What If'
by SweetHawthorn
Summary: My own version of the War of the Gods. AU. Many pairings. Many mind-control schemes. Based on a series of original quests I made in the game. It will reach an end to the war, but in MY version. I've also added the epilogue. Btw, I changed the title and this description. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first time writing a fanfic, so please be kind to me. It is based on a string of original quests I made in the game. I hope you will enjoy it._

Squall's Story

As the sun rises, one by one, pair by pair, the Warriors chosen by the Goddess of Harmony sets off on their regular patrol around the Order's Sanctuary. Brunette bombshell Tifa Lockhart had woken up a little later than usual on this particular day and found out that her usual partners, Yuna and Cloud, had already set off from the Sanctuary with others.

Thinking that this might turn out to be a rather miserable day of lonely hunting and fighting, Tifa turned to see that one man has yet to make it out of the Sanctuary. The tall and handsome figure of Squall Leonhart stood against a backdrop of glorious red hue cast by the dawn. It was a common agreement between the girls that the taciturn Squall was the most desirable bachelor in the group of Warriors.

In a split second, Tifa changed her mind. This may just be the luckiest day in her life as a Warrior. Never before has a chance to partner up with the lonesome lion appeared so readily. Sweeping her fingers along her dark brown hair to ensure that it is neat, Tifa hastily approached Squall before he gets a chance to set off alone as he usually does.

"Hey, Squall!" Tifa cheerily called out to him, "seems like we should partner up for the day."

"I work better alone," came Squall's condensed answer.

Being ready for the refusal, Tifa quickly replied, "don't you think it's safer to be working togeth-"

"Hey~! You guys working together today? I'm so jealous~!" Before Tifa could wrap up her suggestion, Prishe, the Elvaan, has cut in. Staring at the purple haired and cheerful elf-like girl who has just appeared out of nowhere, Squall's eyes radiated disgust and discontentment. But before he could make any comments, a shard of ice suddenly burst around the three, sending sharp shards flying in all directions.

"Watch out!" Squall shouted as the mad mage, Kefka, materialized in front of them. The clown, to whom the terms "insane" and "lunatic" would be considered an understatement, was a Warrior chosen by Chaos, Cosmos' opposing faction. The Warriors of Chaos seek nothing short of domination or destruction and are always seeking out sly and evil ways to rid the world of the Warriors of Cosmos.

Squall readied his gunblade in an instant and swung it against the bouncy mage, missing him by hardly an inch. Tifa and Prishe too readied in their action stances, needing no form of weapon to decimate the enemy.

"Is that all you can do? Kehehehe" Kefka taunted, leering his tongue at the three. "Posey, mosey, Leonhart with two girlies~. This is gonna be fun! Kyahahaha!"

Irritated, Squall shot Thunder magic at the mage, snapping him out of his delirious laughter, while Prishe and Tifa closed in from both sides. But before the two monks could land their kicks on Kefka, the clown had teleported out of the way, reappearing behind Squall. However, Squall's mercenary training was not for naught. He quickly sensed the danger and spun round, drawing an explosive circle around him, knocking Kefka back.

Being hit for the second time, Kefka's morbid humor turned into anger. He fired a string of spells at the three, screaming hardly coherent phrases along the lines of "don't mess with me" "teach you to respect me" and "burn you into crisps". The senseless firing of spells was a double-edged blade for Kefka. On one hand, Squall, Tifa and Prishe could dodge or block them rather easily. But on the other hand, the relentless firing did not leave Tifa and Prishe, who blocked them with their arms, totally unhurt.

Knowing that he has to act fast, Squall rushed towards the mad clown, dodging and blocking fireballs and ice shards along the way. Once he was sufficiently close, he charged his gunblade and slashed through the air ahead of him in a flash of light. The glowing, white blade found its mark. Realizing that his idea of fun has turned dangerous, Kefka fled the scene.

With the enemy gone, Tifa and Prishe finally relaxed a little. But Squall's facial expression did not change the least bit.

"Lighten up, Squall!" Prishe called out.

"I'm going to do my rounds," again came Squall's short reply.

"Don't go about doing it alone," Tifa said anxiously, "wouldn't it be better if we-"

"I don't enjoy being treated like a show dog!" Squall spat out, "to you girls, I am just something for you to flaunt about and show off. Don't think that I have no idea about it."

"What!" Tifa exclaimed, shocked at Squall's vehement reaction. "No, we don't…"

"Look Squall," Prishe started, warily looking at Squall who had flushed bright red with anger and embarrassment. "We kinda agreed that you're really cool and mysterious but that doesn't mean that we treat you as some prized trophy to snatch and flaunt off."

But before Squall can reply to Prishe's blunt explanation, another interference in the form of the time witch, Ultimecia, appeared before them.

"Well, well, Squall," she said sleekly, "aren't you popular? Is that opinion about being cool and mysterious shared by a certain pink haired lady we both know you're after?"

"Shut up!" Squall angrily retorted, but the witch only laughed mockingly at his reaction.

Tilting her lavishly adorned head to the side, Ultimecia pretended to be considering an invitation. "My, Squall, maybe it's time I joined your little fan club. Kyahahaha." And in an instant, she was gone. Her laughter lingered even after her physical self was gone.

Pulling herself back together, Tifa plucked up her courage to ask Squall about Ultimecia's comment. "Squall… Did she refer to Lightning just now? What's going on between you and her?"

"It's not any concern of yours, Tifa." Squall replied rudely, the anger and disgust in his eyes which had been evident since earlier that day not decreasing, but instead amplified. Tifa knew at once that she had made a wrong decision.

"I just want to know-"but without even waiting for Tifa's explanation, Squall had stridden off hastily, fighting the urge to stomp with every step he made. Tifa was left speechlessly staring at Squall's broad back, moving further and further away from her.

"I'll try to explain things to him!" Prishe said, "I'll help you too, Tifa!" And with that, she sprinted off towards the grudgingly striding Squall.

But Squall refused to be caught up just like that. Sensing Prishe's footsteps approaching, he broke off into a run. Fortunately for Prishe, and unfortunately for him, Prishe was a fast runner. Her years of practice in the field of martial arts had left her with a very quick foot. It wasn't long before Prishe finally managed to catch up with the irritated Squall Leonhart.

"Wait!" Prishe shouted at him.

"What do you want?" Squall retorted impatiently.

"I happen to know a few things about Lightning that you might be interested in," she said, grinning mischievously.

"What makes you think-"Squall began, but was cut impatiently by Prishe.

"I KNOW you ARE interested," she said, stressing every word. When Squall did not answer, she continued in a sing song manner, "tough for you though with Firion and Kain around~"

"Don't beat about the bush," Squall finally relented. He cannot deny that he was interested in his occasional partner in patrols. Her strong individuality, her drive, her deep sense of purpose, her skills… All of them piqued his curiosity in the ex-military officer, although he cannot say for sure if that feeling he harbored is called love.

Prishe grinned even wider at Squall's reply and turned to whisper something in his ears…

...

Elsewhere, Kain and Lightning have completed their regular patrols. Feeling that they have accomplished their job faster than usual, Kain turned to ask Lightning. "Since we are early, care to walk to the springs?" Lightning, oblivious to any form of romantic hints and tensions, simply replied, "sure" before striding off past the mysterious dragoon.


	2. Chapter 2

Tifa's Story

The downcast and confused Tifa Lockhart was left behind to stare at Squall and Prishe's distancing figures. She stood there, pondering of what remained of her fantasy of being Squall's partner for the day's patrols, when a familiar voice broke her train of thoughts.

"Dear, dear," the sleek and silky voice of the time witch Ultimecia sounded in barely a whisper in her right ear. "You sure care a lot about Squall having the wrong perception of you." It was evident that she had not truly left the Sanctuary after their exchange earlier, instead remaining in the shadows to watch the drama unfold.

"I do not!" Tifa angrily burst out, jumping away and turning to face the time witch in her battle stance. But even in her own voice, the echoes of lies reverberated. With a mirthless laugh, Ultimecia gave her a contemptuous look, blatantly indicating that she was unconvinced.

"We're both women, you silly girl" Ultimecia cooed, making her best possible attempt at sounding sympathizing and caring. "Squall came from the same world as I do. I know things about him that you don't. Why don't we put aside our enmity for now and discuss our little lion?"

"I-I…." Tifa stammered hesitantly. On one hand, she knew that Ultimecia was an enemy, and she could not have had Squall's or any of her allies' interests in her mind. But on the other, what she said did make sense, and she did know Squall better than she could have known him. Steeling her voice trying to sound as though she was not tempted by her offer, she asked, "What would you gain from helping me?"

Ultimecia chuckled at Tifa's rather pathetic attempt at hiding her interest in her offer. "Nothing but some entertainment" she said, "I have nothing to lose either." She extended her claw like hands towards Tifa and spoke in a soft, hypnotizing voice, "Come child, I can help you. Don't let our difference in factions get in the way of your love. Surely you can't wish for this misunderstanding to last forever?"

Whilst her brain struggled to overcome Ultimecia's temptations, Tifa found her feet striding several steps towards Ultimecia on its own. _What can she possibly do to harm me or Squall? If I just listen to what she has to say, it might not actually do any harm. I can't let Squall continue his wrong perception of me any longer. _At the back of her mind, those whispering voices continued to sound incessantly. Before she knew it, she had extended her own hand to touch Ultimecia's…

The moment they touch, Tifa began to lose herself. The world spun around her and in her ears Ultimecia's voice reverberated strangely, as though she was underwater. "Foolish child… You will be my pawn in conquering Cosmos's minions. Now sleep… until Chaos' victory is assured."


	3. Chapter 3

Tidus's Story

Tidus has been grumpy ever since they left the Sanctuary that morning. His pompous father has taken the liberty to intrude on him and Yuna, and worse, did all the talking the whole morning. He stared angrily at the rugged and muscular Jecht excitedly telling Yuna about his twenty-three different strategies in Blitzball, the underwater sport that made him an international star back in their hometown of Zanarkand.

He caught Yuna stealing worried glances at him every now and then. Being his girlfriend, Yuna knew that the young blonde Blitzball player was never in the best of mood whenever his father is around. The usually cheerful and bright Tidus had deliberately slowed his pace to distance himself from the other two and wore a discomfited frown on his face.

As Yuna scouted ahead, momentarily breaking free of Jecht's lecture on Blitzball, Tidus picked up his pace and approached his father, scowling, "Hey old man! Why do you have to intrude on our date?"

"Ah, I just can't keep my mind at ease leaving Yuna with you alone." Jecht said mockingly.

"I'm perfectly capable of protecting my own girlfriend! Thank you!" Tidus replied indignantly.

Jecht was about to retort with another condescending comment, but was fortunately distracted by the sight of Yuna waving at someone at the distance. The father and son pair approached Yuna's spot and saw that the summoner was beckoning Tifa to join them.

"Tifa, are you patrolling alone?" Yuna asked, sounding concerned. While some of the Cosmos warriors such as Squall or the Warrior or Light were accustomed to patrolling alone, others like Tifa and Terra were not usually left unaccompanied.

"Umm… I was with Squall, but we got separated." Tifa replied bashfully, her lovely cheeks turning pink.

_So the rumors were true after all._ Tidus thought upon seeing Tifa's reaction. In a world where entertainment is scarce, the bored Cosmos Warriors would gossip about one another every now and then. It was common consensus that Cecil knew every little gossip the group had, yet his personal records were oddly untainted.

"Then you should come with us!" Yuna told Tifa, "It's dangerous to be walking alone," her gentle heterochromatic eyes brimming with concern.

"Oh! Of co-"

But before Tifa could finish her sentence, a crystalline form of Cecil Harvey had plunged its weapon in Yuna's direction.

"Watch out!" Tidus cried, summoning his sparkling blue sword just in time to block the manikin's attack on Yuna. The manikin jumped back, letting out a monstrous inhumane growl at its own failure. Behind it, several more of its kind appeared, all readying their own weapons to attack the group.

"A party it is then!" Tidus declared as he charged forward at the Delusory Knight. Jecht and Yuna both readied their weapons and assumed fighting stances. These bloodthirsty crystal imitations are ruthless monsters, as long as they are not destroyed, they would attempt to kill any nearby Warriors of Cosmos. Their lust for blood led them as though they were zombies, but their lack of hearts and brains prevented them from strategizing any significant plans. If they had any, the plans would have been strategized by a Warrior of Chaos.

As Tidus's athletic form spun and somersaulted in the air in his charge forward, he caught a glimpse of Tifa. The attractive martial artist was standing behind Yuna and Jecht, but unlike the other two, did not assume a fighting stance. Instead, an odd purple light glimmered at her fingertips…

The moment Tidus's sword touches the manikin's rod; a huge blast swept the group of warriors and manikins away. In the blinding light, Tidus was unable to see anything, but he could feel the rocks around him crumbling, and his feet soon lost its footing. He wanted to scream, to call out Yuna's name, but the massive energy that had caused the blast seemed to be drowning his voice before it even left his mouth. A moment later, he could feel his whole body crashing into solid ground.

How far he fell, he did not know, but as Tidus's eyes adjusted itself to the sudden darkness, he found himself in a narrow ravine-like cave. His sword radiated a faint blue light in his grip, providing him with sufficient light to discern his surroundings. The walls of rock on both sides are steep and rocks have closed in upon the entrance up above. He knew that he had to find another way out. As he looked around for some clues as to another exit, he found Tifa's limp body lying on the moss covered ground.

"Tifa!" Tidus cried, "can you hear me?" He shook her frantically by the shoulders. In response, Tifa let out a soft groan before slowly opening her eyes.

"What… happened…?" she asked, her hands reaching out to massage her forehead.

"We fell… and got separated…. I guess." Tidus replied hesitantly, recalling the odd glimpse that he caught of her earlier. _I could be imagining things._ He told himself sternly. It would do him no good to be suspecting his only ally now to be responsible for their fall. "We have to find another way out. Can you walk?"

"Barely…" Tifa said as she tried picking herself up.

"Well… I could carry you on my back for now." Tidus offered.

"Thanks. I really appreciate it." Tifa said. She gave him a weak smile as she leaned on the steep rocky walls to support her crumbling body.

Tidus squatted down in front of her, allowing her to climb onto his back. With his sword still in his hand to provide the faint light they needed, he began walking.

...

Elsewhere, Prishe was in a heated discussion with Squall.

"You just have to promise me to make up with Tifa!" the purple-haired girl had desperately needed to scream out loud at Squall's stubbornness.

"I told you I can't promise anything." Squall said, seemingly mustering the strength of every muscle of his body to keep his cool.

"She did nothing wrong! That stupid agreement about you being the most desirable bachelor wasn't Tifa's own idea! We all had our part in it, but we meant no harm!" Prishe exclaimed.

"I don't buy it!" Squall retorted vehemently. "Can you convince me that people like Lightning and Terra would nominate people in some stupid agreement?"

"Well maybe not…" Prishe sighed exasperatedly. "Look can we just forget about that agreement? I promise that none of us are gonna bring that up EVER again. You make up with Tifa and that's it. I'll help you with Lightning."

Squall stood in silence, resentment still clearly registering on his handsome features. "Whatever," he finally said.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Prishe said cheerfully, her mood apparently lightening up again the moment Squall agreed. As a reply, Squall only snorted.

...

After a long walk through the seemingly endless darkness, Tidus finally spotted light seeping in through some cracks in the wall.

"Look!" He cried excitedly, "I think we might be able to move these rocks for an exit!" He squatted down and let Tifa down from his back and quickly dug at the wall of reasonably small rocks. The bright warm sunlight gradually bathed Tifa who was struggling to stand while holding onto the walls for support.

When the hole was big enough for them to pass through, the sight of a vast green field greeted the two weary explorers. While not exactly picturesque due to the ensuing war, Tidus felt that it was probably one of the most beautiful sceneries he has ever seen. Supporting Tifa out of the cave, the two collapsed on the green grass.

"I'm so glad we made it out." Tifa said with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah," Tidus idly replied as he stretched himself on the natural green carpet before finally placing his hands behind his head and closing his weary eyes.

"You know Tidus…" Tifa began, his closed eyes making him oblivious to the bizarre purple gleam flashing in Tifa's normally red eyes. "I am really grateful to you carrying me out of that dreadful cave…" she continued as she inched closer to Tidus, her voice gradually becoming softer. "I'd like to give you my token of appreciation…" she whispered seductively, her face barely inches away from Tidus's.

A chill went down Tidus's spine the moment he heard Tifa's voice so close to his face and quickly opened his eyes to find Tifa's lips hovering dangerously close above his. Startled, he rolled away and summoned his sword.

"Who are you!?" He demanded. "You… You're not Tifa!"

Chuckling, the beast in Tifa Lockhart's skin slowly got up. She turned to stare at Tidus with eyes that glinted with the presence of evil before abruptly sending shards of ice flying at him. Tidus dodged the incoming attack effortlessly. But Tifa had anticipated that. After all, Tidus was a skilled dodger. As Tidus spun in the air dodging the Blizzard attack, Tifa had closed in on him and the moment he landed back on the ground, she had sent her flurry of kicks and punches at him. Tidus struggled to block the unforeseen attack, barely managing to block them all until a punch landed on his arm.

Tidus stared in bewilderment at his arm. It was no normal punch. The punch had left his arm frozen with shards of ice covering the affected area. Fortunately, that was not his sword arm, allowing him to continue blocking Tifa's subsequent attacks, albeit with great difficulty as the frozen arm was beginning to hurt him. It was a burning sensation, as though his arm was placed in contact with dry ice.

Wearied, Tidus's blocks were gradually weakening and Tifa managed to land another one of those deadly blows on his right leg, causing the same burning pain to seep through that leg. Pleased, Tifa jumped back and smiled mockingly at him. "It would've hurt less if you would just follow my orders." She crooned dangerously.

"Like hell I will!" Tidus bellowed adamantly, trying to keep the pain out of his facial expressions.

"How unfortunate…" Tifa replied, her face contorting into an ugly smile. Tidus had never seen such a horrible expression, much less from Tifa Lockhart. She began chanting what seemed to be a spell. The same purple light that glimmered earlier reappeared at her fingertips.

_Ugh! So I was right after all. There's no way I could escape that._ Tidus though vehemently. He thought of Yuna and was silently thankful that it was not her who had to face this monstrous Tifa.

"Say your last goodbyes, Tidus." Tifa told him, or rather, announced his doom to him. He closed his eyes as he braced himself for the same blast. Through his closed eyelids, he could feel the ball of light drawing nearer and nearer…

Then he felt unexpected swishing right in front of him and he could feel a wall forming between him and the ball of light. A split second later, the blast was heard blowing off in the distance. He opened one eye warily to find a blue cape swishing in his face.

"Firion!" He cried, his voice brimming with gratefulness. Firion had apparently employed his Shield Bash skill to block Tidus from the attack and sent the blast in another direction.

"Are you alright Tidus? What happened?" Firion asked anxiously.

"She…" Tidus began, pointing at Tifa.

"Tsk!" Tifa snapped impatiently before an ominous purple light engulfed her, and she was gone. She knew that it was unwise to challenge two Warriors of Cosmos at the same time… even with a surrogate body.

"Who… is she?" Firion asked apprehensively.

"Wish I knew…" Tidus replied savagely, the pain throbbing incessantly in his arm and leg. _When I find out who's behind this, that person's gonna pay. _He thought before finally collapsing again on the ground.


	4. Chapter 4

Firion's Story

Firion stood silently, watching the darkening horizons of the grassy plains where he had saved Tidus earlier. The sun's last rays were disappearing behind the distant hills, creating a beautiful gradient of orange to purple on the cloudless sky.

Tidus had recounted his experiences with Tifa as Firion tended to his wounds and Firion had pondered on what could have made Tifa act the way she did. The exhausted Tidus had fallen asleep almost immediately after his final bandage was tied on his right leg. Firion had also boiled some water and soaked a few scrap pieces of cloth to warm up Tidus's frozen wounds.

Diverting his eyes away from the charming scenery the sun painted, he turned to check on Tidus. _Tidus is no more than a boy. Why make a boy fight? What could Cosmos have in mind summoning people who are inexperienced in war and putting them in danger? _Despite knowing that the athletic Tidus was perfectly capable of protecting himself, Firion could not help questioning the situation which called for it.

His thoughts wandered to Tifa who acted bizarrely. The look he saw earlier was unfamiliar even in Tifa's features. _Or maybe, because it IS in Tifa's features…_ He corrected himself. The lovely martial artist has always been gentle. Not in her kicks and punches, but she would never harm a fellow ally. At least, the one Firion used to know.

Subconsciously, his thoughts then wandered to the stunning Lightning. The pink haired beauty had captured his interest ever since she came across his wild rose. The wild rose which Laguna accidentally found had continuously reminded him of memories which he cannot recall. It was like trying to light a fire unsuccessfully. There are sparks but no flame. Firion had treasured it ever since, trying to solve its mysteries. Then came Lightning, who claimed that she felt the same sparks emanating from that rose. With memories of their homeland only in bits and pieces, Firion had ever since wondered if Lightning could have come from the same world as he did. _Not only that,_ he thought, _maybe we were even from the same town, or maybe we were friends, or family, or… husband and wife!?_

Firion shook his head fervently. No, he knew he should not be jumping into conclusions. It would be better to wait until more of his memories have returned. Yet, every time he saw Lightning gradually becoming closer to Kain, his stomach seem to twist horrendously. Was it jealousy? Or was it only because he did not want Kain to be close to someone who MIGHT be his wife? _This is ridiculous,_ he thought, _snap out of it Firion._

And he did snap out of his train of thoughts when the sound of clanking armor drew close to their little campsite, prompting him to turn swiftly at the source with his hand readied on his bow. Tidus stirred, mustering his seemingly non-existent strength to return to consciousness. The figure of the dark armor-clad Golbez, Cecil's elder brother and a Warrior of Chaos, gradually drew near. Woken up with the shock of an abrupt visit by an enemy warrior, Tidus sleepily summoned his sword as he sat up.

"You won't need those weapons of yours today." Golbez said calmly, stopping several feet away from them. "I came to you to ask that you pass a message to Kain."

"What message?" groaned Tidus, visibly annoyed at the unwelcome disturbance to his sleep.

"I fear that he let his emotions get in the way of his goal." Golbez continued, unperturbed by the obvious annoyance in Tidus's voice. "Tell him that his dreams are futile. That he should not be swayed by 'what ifs'. That he should give it up before it's too late. For the sake of others."

"Huh?" Tidus stared at him blankly. As he processed Golbez's words, he was certain that those words did not make sense and that it was not attributed to his lack of sleep. "You want us to tell Kain a load of gibberish? He'll kill us! You have never seen Bartz being chased by a flying lance he threw have you?"

Goblez merely let out a soft chuckle and replied, "He'll understand them."

"Why don't you tell him yourself?" Tidus asked stubbornly.

"Let's just say… He'll misunderstand my intentions." Golbez replied succinctly and with a swish of his dark mantle, he was gone in a flurry of black flames.

"Wonder what he meant…" Tidus mumbled. "I guess I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep after that. What do you say to searching for Kain, Rosebud?"

Firion was deep in his own thoughts, pondering over Golbez's cryptic message that it took him a full ten seconds to react to Tidus's question. "Huh? Oh… Sure… why not?" he replied. And the two listlessly packed up their scattered belongings and set off.

After a short journey, Tidus caught sight of the glow of campfire in the distance. Knowing that the Chaos Warriors have no habit of setting up camps, the pair approached the campsite with Tidus shouting excitedly to get the campers' attention.

It turned out that the campers were none other than Cecil Harvey and the little Onion Knight.

"Hey, Cecil! Onion!" Tidus cried out, delighted at the sight of other allies.

"Hey!" Cecil called back, a smile formed on his handsome, albeit rather feminine face, "Didn't expect you two to still be wandering around late at this hour."

"We're looking for Kain," Tidus replied as he seated himself next to Firion, "we got a message from your brother… hey! Maybe you can help us decipher it!" The blonde ace suddenly got excited at the possible thought of Cecil throwing some light on the situation.

"Golbez wanted you to give a message to Kain?" Cecil asked, puzzled. Firion saw Onion Knight give the same look but infused with an extra dose of suspicion as he seated himself next to Tidus.

"Yeah, listen," Tidus began. He then cleared his throat and imitated Golbez's deep voice, saying, "'Tell him that his dreams are futile. That he should not be swayed by 'what ifs'. That he should give it up before it's too late. For the sake of others.' Do you get what he meant Cecil?" He finished with his ever cheerful voice.

"Hmmm….. I'm afraid it sounded as gibberish to me as it did to you." Cecil said slowly. He wondered what could Golbez be trying to convey to Kain, that he as Golbez's brother and Kain's best friend did not know.

"It could be a trap," the Onion Knight piped in. Despite his young age, the little knight was surprisingly wary of people, even more so that the naïve Laguna or Bartz who were both much older than he was.

"It didn't sound that way…" Firion said hesitantly.

"Maybe it's some kind of code!" Tidus cheerfully suggested.

"Maybe…" Cecil slowly said, "It has something to do with Lightning…"

"What!?" Firion exclaimed in shock. "Why Lightning?"

"Umm… nothing… it's just that they're close aren't they? She… could have known something." Cecil hastily added. He knew how Firion felt towards Lightning, after all, he had been the one who caught Firion staring long and hard at the statuesque lady. And he did not want misunderstandings between Firion and Kain.

"Tidus, let's continue searching for Kain!" Firion abruptly stood up.

"But we just came!" Tidus protested. His eyes had been eyeing the fish crackling above Cecil and Onion Knight's bonfire ever since they arrived.

"We have a mission," Firion replied shortly before beginning to stride off. Tidus groaned and reluctantly picked himself up.

"Be careful," Cecil warned, "We saw Sephiroth lurking around that direction earlier. He said he was looking for some 'rat'." He pointed towards the woods where Firion and Tidus were heading.

"We got it! Thanks!" Firion said as he waved the pair goodbye.

...

"And there you go!" Zidane added cheerfully as he struck a finishing blow at a crystalline figure of ExDeath.

"Wow! That was impressive, Zidane!"

Tifa's voice caught the monkey-tailed thief by surprise. I must have been too engrossed in finishing up those manikins that I didn't see her, he thought.

"Tifa? What a pleasant surprise." Zidane said as he gave her his trademark lady-killer smile.

Tifa let out a small giggle and said, "So for that awesome finishing, I think you deserve a date. What do you say?" A flirtatious smile formed on her lips and her eyes glinted with mischief.

"A date!?"

"You… don't like theidea?" Tifa asked apprehensively, her expression turned into that of disappointment.

"No! It's not that!" Zidane quickly said. "It's just that… I usually do the asking."

Relief spread across Tifa's pretty features as she let out another flirtatious giggle. "So you'd like to ask now?"

"Nah… We'll leave it this way. It's kinda refreshing to get asked out. A date it is!" Zidane happily chirped. It _was_ extraordinary that Tifa would approach him asking for a date, _but that's probably her finally realizing my charm,_ Zidane thought proudly and set off with Tifa.


	5. Chapter 5

Yuna's Story

After being separated from Tidus, Yuna and Jecht wandered around the area, searching for clues as to possible routes which Tidus could have taken. Worry was written all over Yuna's gentle features as she moved around frantically in search of her lost boyfriend. Even Jecht, who would never admit with that foul mouth of his that he cared for his son, became rather grouchy in the fruitless search.

Suddenly, the sound of clanking weapons can be heard. First rather faintly, then it grew louder. Whoever was making the noise drew closer to where Yuna and Jecht stood, straining their ears to discern the source of the noise.

"Tidus!?" Yuna exclaimed as she ran towards the direction from which the sound of battles came. At her heels, the mighty Jecht followed.

A blonde haired youth can be seen fighting a group of aggressive manikins at the distance. But he was not Tidus.

"Cloud?" Yuna called out to him.

"Stay… back!" Cloud shouted back as he saw the summoner's petite form against a backdrop of twilight sky. The spiky haired blonde looked severely worn out, mustering all his strength to fight back against a group of at least half a dozen manikins. He swung his giant sword at a crystalline Kuja who was charging forward and the form burst into a thousand tiny splinters.

_Something's not right_, Yuna thought, _those manikins look more aggressive than usual._ Bracing her staff, she rushed forward to join the fray, followed closely by Jecht.

Delicate as she may look, in battle, Yuna was an opponent worthy to be feared. Her main strength lies in summoning powerful creatures to attack the enemies in her stead. She began the assault by summoning Bahamut, the king of dragons. A golden glyph formed in the air close to her and the upper torso of a fearsome black dragon appeared, releasing three black energy balls at the crystal herd. The energy balls found their targets and blasted back a crystal Kefka as well as bursting a crystal Bartz into glimmering splinters as the manikin Kuja did earlier.

Jecht too, summoned a large piece of rock, or rather meteor, and hurled it at the group of manikins, destroying a manikin of Terra and the Emperor in its blast. But the remaining manikins were not keen on retreating, even after four of its comrades were destroyed mercilessly in front of their very eyes. In fact, they let out a chilling war cry and charged forward with even greater ferocity than before.

Strong as they were, aggressive as they were, they were no match for three experienced Cosmos Warriors. Even with Cloud badly injured, he could still put up a fight. Within minutes, the remaining two manikins were annihilated and as the final manikin burst into glimmering shards, Cloud collapsed on the ground.

"Cloud!" Yuna cried as she rushed forward to his blood soaked form, "Oh no… His injuries are pretty severe." She reached her hand out over his limp body and pale greenish light began to form on Yuna's fingertips. The queer wisp of light glowed pale green and white as it transferred from Yuna's hands to Cloud's chest. Slowly, the nasty cuts, burns and lacerations on Cloud's body began to close up, and his breathing stabilized significantly.

"He's gonna be fine," Jecht said, assuring Yuna. "He just lost some blood and is deeply exhausted. Let's just let him rest."

Yuna nodded in comprehension and turned to Jecht and said, "Let's just rest here for the day then. I'll make some fire"

"Will do," Jecht agreed as he took up his massive sword and headed off, "I'll make a few rounds to make sure the area's safe."

"Right, be careful Sir Jecht." Yuna warned him gently.

As Jecht strode off in the approaching darkness, Yuna gathered several twigs and branches around the area and lit a small bonfire by magic. Left alone with her thoughts, she stared at the twinkling flames and wondered where Tidus was. Hugging her legs, Yuna placed her chins on her knees and let her chain of thoughts wander. _Tidus, enemies, the war, manikins… That's right!_ She suddenly jerked up, remembering about the strange behavior of the manikins attacking Cloud. They were… different. If possible, they were even more beastly than usual. Besides, it looked as if Cloud was trying to escape them but was unable to shake them off. Sure manikins are merciless, but they are brainless, it should not be too hard to shake them off under normal circumstances. Making a mental note to ask Cloud about it when he regains consciousness, Yuna felt herself being overcome by fatigue and drifted off to sleep…

How long had it been since she fell asleep, she did not know. She was woken by a worried Jecht who had just come back from his patrol, shaking her by the shoulders and calling her name. The sky had turned black in the seemingly short while she slept and stars twinkled on the dark backdrop. The bonfire she made had almost burned out with nothing more than a tiny glowing ember left.

"I… I'm sorry, Sir Jecht…" Yuna stammered, trying to recall back her lost consciousness, "I must have dozed off…"

"Well I'm just glad you're fine." Jecht said with a sigh of relief, "Got me worried there Yuna, when I saw that the fire have gone out from the distance."

He threw a pile of fire wood on the remnants of the bonfire and with another blast of fire magic from Yuna, the bonfire came back alive.

"Yuna…? Jecht…?" Cloud had regained consciousness. _Probably woken up by the noises of our conversation,_ Yuna thought.

"Ah, boy, see that you're awake. How're ya feeling?" Jecht warmly said to him.

"Much better. Thanks." He replied with his hand on his forehead as he seated himself up. A slight dizziness was still there, but his wounds did not hurt anymore.

"You should just lie back and rest some more." Yuna kindly suggested.

"No," Cloud shook his head, "There's no time. Those manikins… Sephiroth sent them. I don't know what he did to them, but they are like rocket missiles. Either they find their target or they be destroyed before they do."

"What!?" Yuna and Jecht both gasped in shock. They expected some new breed of mutant manikins, but the idea of a Chaos warrior making them relentless assassins is simply terrifying.

"Maybe we should warn the others?" Yuna spoke up after a momentary silence. The shock of the information still reverberated through her nerves.

"You should go and warn them," Cloud said as he got up, picking his gigantic sword and placing them on its sheath behind his back. "I'll tackle Sephiroth directly."

"What!?" Jecht exclaimed, "You can't go alone!"

"I'll be fine." Cloud said, trying to sound assuring, but his voice betrayed him. He knew that taking out Sephiroth would not be an easy task, but it was his responsibility. He must be the one to finish Sephiroth.

"Be careful then," Yuna said as she gave him an encouraging smile, "We'll warn the others for you." Cloud knew that Yuna detected his lack of confidence in his voice, but his heart lifted at the fact that Yuna trusted him to emerge victorious. With a grateful nod, he set off to search for Sephiroth.

As Cloud's lone figure disappeared in the darkness, Jecht finally spoke up, "Guess there ain't any time to waste. Let's get going." He got up from the ground and grabbed his massive sword, preparing to set off. But he suddenly stopped in his tracks when he found Yuna still stood rooted to the spot.

"Yuna?" He asked, concerned.

"Sir Jecht," Yuna said, hesitantly. "I'm worried about Tidus."

Jecht scratched his head, for a while pondering over what to say. But when he at last spoke up, those words gave Yuna all the encouragement she needed. "Don't worry about him. The boy's much stronger than I'd ever like to admit."

Smiling at the reluctant confession, Yuna finally got up.

"Let's go, Sir Jecht."


	6. Chapter 6

Zidane's Story

Still incredulous at his unbelievably good luck at having Tifa on a date, Zidane caught himself stealing glances at the incredibly attractive lady striding at his side.

"So… ummm… Tifa?" Zidane said, trying to strike a conversation. "What are you doing alone? It's dangerous for a girl to be walking around alone in a world like this y'know?"

"I got separated from Squall." Tifa said, smiling sweetly at him, "I'm glad I met you though."

"Oh… Squall..." Zidane said with a note of disappointment evident in his voice. While Zidane liked the brooding Squall as a friend, he never appreciated the girls' attraction to the handsome, stoic figure. _I'm supposed to be the lady-killer around here,_ Zidane had so often thought. Recently, he even heard rumors of the girls putting him on top of the bachelors list. He had heard Prishe earn her bragging rights when she got to partner up with Squall for one round of those regular patrols, and had heard Tifa swoon over his impressive features as he dived into a lake for swimming training. Being a thief allowed him to eavesdrop on important information without being caught; but surely, these were not his choice of topics to eavesdrop upon.

"I prefer to be around you though," Tifa said abruptly, as though she could read his mind.

Zidane stopped in his tracks and turned in shock to face Tifa's smiling face, trying to read if she was saying that merely to cheer him up. But whatever message there was in her twinkling red eyes was imperceptible. So, Zidane merely shook his head and said, "You don't have to lie to me you know? It's obvious you liked him."

"Maybe I did," Tifa replied, "But it doesn't mean I don't enjoy being with you." As she said those words that Zidane had longed to hear, she placed her hands on her knees and bent down to close in on the shorter Zidane.

Zidane had never had Tifa so close to him before. Her face was barely two inches away from his. _What are you panicking for?_ Zidane thought to himself. _Wasn't this always what you wanted? Weren't you used to having girls swoon around you? _Yet he sensed something amiss, although he could not place a finger on what it was.

"Let's just forget about Squall for now." Tifa said as she placed a finger on Zidane's lips. "It's just you and me for now."

In what seemed to happen in a split second, Zidane had found himself in Tifa's embrace, with her lips locking onto his. And in the heat of the moment, Zidane felt everything seeping away from him; his conscience, his memories, his knowledge… Nothing else mattered to him. He did not even bother trying to retain them. Little did he know, by the time that passionate kiss ended, he would be nothing more than a puppet.

…

Ultimecia got her wish. She had one more puppet to control. The more puppets he has, the less of Cosmos's irritating minions there will be. Smiling through her surrogate body, she stared at the soulless eyes of Zidane Tribal who said in a hollow voice, "Your wish is my command, my lady."

Pleased with her creation, Ultimecia decided to try out her new toy. She looked around in search of possible test subjects, and her eyes fell on a lone wanderer at a distance. Chuckling to herself, she did nothing more than nod to the blonde thief at the wanderer's direction, and Zidane was off.

…

Bartz was wandering alone. He had been separated from Laguna earlier. Laguna's lack of directional sense probably sent him along a stray path as Bartz turned his back on him for a mere second. The night was chilly. Bartz was not afraid of being alone or of the dark, but it would have made him feel better if he was with a friend.

Hence, his heart leapt for joy when he saw Zidane walking towards him. "Zidane! Zidane! Zidane!" Bartz cried joyfully at the sight of his best friend, waving and jumping at the same time. _Wait,_ he suddenly stopped. _Something's not right._ Zidane definitely did saw him, he was facing his direction. But walking as though he did not recognize his best friend's presence was something uncharacteristic of Zidane.

As the long haired thief drew nearer, Bartz began to shiver. There was something odd, something evil about Zidane's presence. Sure enough, as the distance between them closed, Zidane summoned his dual daggers and flew in Bartz's direction. Bartz barely managed to block him with a sword he summoned in the nick of time.

"Zidane?" Bartz asked, confused, as the two locked weapons.

"My lady desires your annihilation." Zidane said flatly. "And I will do just that."

"My lady!?" Bartz exclaimed, pushing Zidane away from him. "Are you mad Zidane!? Who are you talking about!?"

"No explanations needed." Zidane said as he drew his daggers once more and charged forward. The clash of metals rang in the quiet night, creating a cacophony unperturbed by any other sounds around it. Again and again their weapons meet, but no victor seemed to emerge.

Seemingly vexed by the lack of a victor, Zidane relented in his attack and jumped away from Bartz. Instead, he began casting some form of magic unknown to Bartz which created purple glimmers on his fingertips. Dumbfounded, Bartz could only stare at him. Zidane had never been one to practice magic regularly. His attacks have always been one that focused on his agility and trademark aerial strikes. Zidane smirked at the thunderstruck Bartz and released a huge white ball of energy in his direction.

The sight of the white energy ball brought Bartz back to his senses. He knew he had to act quickly. As the ball of energy drew closer, he imitated Yuna's summoning and summoned Ifrit's Hellfire to create a protective wall of flames around him. Unfortunately, his idea was not exactly wise, as the energy ball broke into a blast as it collided with Ifrit's flames, sending Bartz flying back.

"Time to finish you off," ZIdane said merrily, a creepy ring of joy tainted his voice. He walked slowly towards the injured Bartz, as if savoring every moment of victory over his dear friend. When he finally reached Bartz, he hung one of his daggers high above Bartz's head and whispered victoriously, "Say good night, Bartz Klauser."

If Bartz hadn't believed in miracles, he sure did now. The instant Zidane's dagger begun to plunge in the direction of his head, a powerful blast of wind knocked him off. Bartz knew that magic even before he laid eyes on its caster.

The beautiful Terra Branford had just saved his life.

"Bartz, are you okay?" Terra asked him, sounding distressed. Right behind her was her companion, Vaan.

"What's wrong with Zidane?" The dirty blonde haired Vaan asked, eyeing Zidane who was trying to get up.

"No idea…" Bartz answered weakly. "We better get out of here…"

"You are going nowhere!" Zidane hissed as he slowly got up.

"Terra, Can you get us out of here?" Bartz asked frantically. He was still panting due to his wounds. "I don't want to hurt Zidane."

"I will." Terra assured him. She had no wish to hurt Zidane either. The obvious choice for them now was to retreat and find out what happened to him. As she chanted, a wall of four tornadoes formed around them, creating a barrier between them and Zidane. Within those walls, she chanted another spell to teleport them out. As the gentle light engulfed them, the three of them could hear Zidane's outraged cry amongst the noise of gushing wind.

As the light flickered, the tornadoes subsided. And they were gone.

Ultimecia walked towards Zidane. She had witnessed the whole scene from the shadows. Although she was not pleased that Zidane had failed to kill Bartz, she was glad that Zidane had turned out exactly as she had hoped. A mere servant puppet that would do anything she commands.

"It can't be helped," she told him, "We'll find another target. Let's go." With a flick of her fingers, she created a black portal and disappeared within it. Zidane obediently followed.

…

Bartz, Terra and Vaan emerged from the glowing light on a snow covered field. Terra quickly cast cure on Bartz's wounds. Fortunately, they were not serious and Bartz quickly recovered. Ifrit's Hellfire had successfully minimized the damage done.

"What do you think is wrong with Zidane?" Terra asked Bartz.

"I don't know," Bartz said, shaking his head, "He just walked up to me and tried to murder me."

Vaan and Terra both looked at him disbelievingly. Bartz himself knew that his story was incredulous, but that was the truth. And both Vaan and Terra could not deny that Zidane's behavior was indeed bizarre.

"Not only that," Bartz continued as he was reminded of the great white energy ball, "His magic powers were incredibly powerful… The blow that knocked me back… That was no move of Zidane's."

At those words, Terra suddenly shuddered. Vaan and Bartz both turned to her with concerned looks. "Maybe…" she slowly said, "he was being controlled…" And she shook even more at those words; her expression was that of fear mixed with disgust.

"Well, we've got to find out," Vaan said as he stood up, "And we have to warn the others first. They'll be able to help us keep a lookout for information. Can you walk Bartz?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Bartz replied as he got up, "Terra? Can you handle walking some more?"

"Yes…" She said softly, still shuddering slightly, "We cannot waste time warning the rest."

Snowflakes were dancing against a backdrop of night sky as the trio begun to walk. With Vaan and Bartz ahead, Terra took one last look back at the snow covered field before following them, at the same time convincing herself that it was going to turn out fine…


	7. Chapter 7

Prishe's Story

Prishe and Squall's journey brought them to a lake. In the darkness of the night, the lake was stunningly beautiful. Glowing mineral rocks adorn the shores and shimmering lights, theorized to be mineral fragments, glowed like fireflies all around the lake. The lake itself radiated a strange hue much similar to the aurora borealis. Only at night would the lake emanate such beauty, as though rejoicing in the calmness of the night after a war-savaged day. Not many people knew of the mystery this lake which was too ordinary looking before the sunset.

For Squall himself, this was the first time he ever set eyes on the mysterious lake at nightfall, and he relished this queer beauty as Prishe jumped around happily ahead.

"Oooh!" Prishe's sudden exclamation pulled Squall back out of dreamland. "Kain! Lightning! We FINALLY found you!" Sure enough, on the opposite shore of the lake, Kain and Lightning were seated on the rocky edges. Both seemed to be savoring the same scenery too. Lightning had even taken off her boots and let her bare feet hang in the crystalline waters.

"Prishe," Lightning called back, "Is something wrong?"

As Prishe made her way around the lake towards where the other two were seated, she continued shouting, "No! Nothing's wrong! Squall just wanted to- OUCH!" Squall had sensed danger earlier and had made his way stealthily to Prishe's back, ready to elbow her whenever she was about to divulge his secret; which he successfully did.

As the two managed to make their way around to Lightning and Kain's campsite, Prishe's loud mouth began again, "We've been searching ALL OVER for you. Squall badly wants to- OUUUCHHH!" This time, Squall had successfully, without Lightning and Kain realizing it, pinched the purple-haired Elvaan's arms.

"Mind if we join you?" Squall quickly said before Prishe's loud exclamation of pain drew Lightning and Kain's suspicions.

"Sure," Kain replied succinctly as he averted his gaze back to the glowing lake.

Prishe was about to open her mouth to thank Kain when a queer black blob suddenly appeared several feet away from them. All four of them turned to the black blob and eyed it suspiciously. Lightning, Squall and Kain all had their hands ready on their weapons.

And out of that bizarre blob came a huge red-mantled swordsman. His face was painted in red and white patterns, and his outfit was extravagant with spikes, stripes, polkadots, gold, red, etc. They had never seen such a person before.

Prishe was the first to recover from the shock of a huge unknown swordsman strolling into their campsite and asked him casually, "Never seen you around before, big guy. Where did you come from?"

The red-clad swordsman jerked his head at her direction as she spoke up, seemingly oblivious to their presence before Prishe said anything. In surprise, he asked her, "You don't know me!?" To which Prishe simply shook her head and shrugged. He then scratched his chin as he contemplated Prishe's reaction before slowly saying, "Hmm… I'm pretty sure I'm more famous than that."

"Anyway," he continued as he puffed his chest up, "I'm the mighty-strong-incredible-super-dashing-charming-smart-and-awesome… Gilgamesh!" There was a tone of dramatic pride as told them his name, as though expecting applause at the end of his introduction.

"Wait, so you're not a warrior of this conflict?" Lightning asked in astonishment.

"Well no, miss," The red-clad warrior looked at her with a puzzled gaze, "I know nothing of any conflicts. I came here looking for a Bartz. But I don't mind stopping for a date." He added a flirtatious wink in Lightning's direction as he said the last line.

"What…?" Squall suddenly jerked up, "If you're not a warrior of this conflict then get going and finish your own business!"

"Hey, hey," Gilgamesh replied, holding up both hands, as if trying to defend himself from the ferocity of Squall's words. "No need to get so worked up. Now ladies…" He said, turning back to Lightning and Prishe, "anytime~" He sent another wink flying in the girls' direction before striding off in a pompous manner.

"Why are you so worked up Squall?" Kain remarked calmly after the bizarre swordsman had disappeared into the woods.

"It's… nothing." Squall replied quietly. He soon regretted his sudden outburst for he now realized that there was no possible way that this Gilgamesh could have asked Lightning out.

Fortunately, Prishe managed to discern the situation and said changed the subject, "Well, if we're gonna camp here for the night, we better make sure there're no one else like that guy around. Kain, let's go for a walk!" Before Kain could say anything, she had dragged him by his arm into the woods.

They went deeper and deeper into the woods without saying anything. Once convinced that they are far enough from the campsite, Kain finally spoke up, "I've checked the woods with Lightning earlier, so let's cut to the chase. Squall came for Lightning, didn't he?"

Prishe hesitated for a moment before saying sheepishly, "Well he said he wanted to talk to her… Say Kain, how do YOU feel about her?"

Although Kain had part of his face covered by a helmet, Prishe could read the dragoon's shock at the sudden turn in conversation. There was a moment of silence as Prishe waited for Kain to respond. At long last, Kain finally replied, "There's no time to consider such things. This is a war."

"Exactly!" Prishe said cheerfully while Kain looked at her even more incredulously. "We never know what'll happen to us. If you don't take the chance, you might never get it. If you don't take the chance, others might take it."

Kain eyed the grinning Prishe suspiciously, "Aren't you supposed to be rooting for Squall?"

Prishe nonchalantly waved him off, "It's never about rooting for anybody. I promised Squall that I'd help. But who Lightning chooses is completely up to her."

Kain turned his back on Prishe and faced the sky. The twinkling stars were clearly visible from that tiny clearing. He stood there silently for a few minutes, a million thoughts seemingly dashing through his helmet covered head, until he finally spoke up, "I am grateful, Prishe."

Prishe grinned widely at his reaction and said, "You owe me a spicy hot taco."


	8. Chapter 8

Terra's Story

Terra, Bartz and Vaan were walking along the boundaries of a huge forest, straining their eyes and ears for any signs of their allies. The sky had enveloped them in darkness with the faint glimmer of the stars and moon as the only source of light, but still they continued on their journey.

Suddenly, Terra stopped on her tracks. "What's wrong?" Bartz asked, but Terra ignored his question, and focused her eyes and ears on the forest on her left. Both Bartz and Vaan looked at her confusedly; they could not detect any signs of activity from behind the leaves which rustled gently due to a gentle breeze.

"I'll be right back," Terra said and rushed into the forest before Bartz or Vaan could stop her. She tore through the woods. As the forest grew thicker, the faint light of from the heavens were soon blocked completely by the majestic crown of trees. With a twist of her hand, Terra lighted a small glowing flame by magic on the palm of her hands, using it as her guide through the darkness. She was certain that she had sensed some sort of magic power radiating from within the forest. Her immense capability in magic had given her a greater degree of sensitivity towards magic as compared to Bartz or Vaan. _There is definitely someone around here,_ she thought.

She came to a halt in a clearing where the moonlight shone through and momentarily put out the flames she held. As she pondered over which direction she should take, the swing of a giant sword brought her back to her senses. She elegantly evaded the sword's crushing blow and came face to face with Cloud.

"Cloud!" Terra exclaimed.

"Terra!?" Cloud asked, "What are you doing here? I'm sorry… I thought you were a manikin."

Terra shook her head kindly and said, "No, it's alright. Better be safe than sorry."

"Anyway, you better be careful. Sephiroth he- Look out!" Cloud pulled Terra away just in time from a dangerous shard of ice which struck the exact spot where she was standing.

"Gyahhh! Missed it!" An insane angry howl can be heard echoing through the quiet forest before the flamboyant form of the mad clown Kefka materialized in front of the pair. _So HE was the source of magic power I felt earlier, _Terra thought. Kefka chuckled as though he could read Terra's thoughts. "Gehehehe… What a lovely night for a stroll I must say. You two came at the right timing!"

Cloud assumed his fighting stance and pushed Terra behind him before angrily addressing Kefka, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What do you want? Surely you didn't come for a stroll."

""Gyahahahaa," Kefka laughed, his voice ringing with delirium and excitement, "OF COURSE NOT! I'm healthy enough without the need for one. Congratulations! You two are my targets for today!"

"As if!" Cloud retorted savagely as he swung his sword in Kefka's direction, but the clown dodged it, laughing even more as he did. Terra threw a ball of flame in his direction, but the clown had created a dome around him, barricading the assault.

"Now puppets must remain puppets," Kefka said slowly, his voice no longer shrieking and laughing, but deep and menacing. The purple dome of light around him grew larger and larger as he spoke with his hunched form at its very core. Cloud rushed to Terra's side and tried to shield her from the queer magical force, but the dome-shaped apparition soon consumed them within it. As Cloud and Terra both feel their bodies being sucked into Kefka's magical force field, they found their sights hindered by a blinding white light. All they could hear was Kefka's dangerous voice saying, "You two puppets shall serve my cause. Yes! Even you… Puppet of Sephiroth…"

…

The next thing Cloud knew was that he was lying face down on the forest floor with Bartz at his side, desperately shaking him. But he did not feel normal. His brains seemed to be pounding violently on his skull and even though he should have regained consciousness, it was as though he was only half-awake.

"Owaaaaaaa!" Vaan screamed in shock, "Terra!" As Cloud strained his blurry eyes, he could make out Terra's figure looming over Vaan who had tripped and fell onto the ground. Yet something was not right about Terra. Her eyes were glowing purple and radiated with the presence of demons. She held her hands high up in the air, forming a ball of fire, ready to launch onto Vaan as her face contorted into a demonic smile.

Cloud could no longer think clearly, but he knew by gut instinct that he had to get Terra away from the other two; not only Terra, but himself too. Fighting against the dizziness, he rushed towards Terra and grabbed her by the waist. The sudden distraction stopped Terra's spell and the flames disappeared. Without hesitation, Cloud ran deeper into the woods, escaping from his allies with Terra in his arms. The Terra in his arms growled, hissed and struggled. Having no other choice, he knocked her unconscious before carrying her further into the woods.

Cloud could hear hissing voices in his head, chanting the words, "murder", "pupper", "orders", "kill", "dead" and many other horrifying things. Yet a flicker of conscience deep within his soul kept telling him that he had to resist. _It's the… only way… I can… protect Terra…_ he thought as he dropped himself down on the forest floor, sufficiently far from harm; harm that he or Terra may cause…


	9. Chapter 9

Kain's Story

As Prishe and Kain made their way back to the campsite, they found two unexpected visitors seated with Lightning and Squall, the weapon specialist, Firion, and Zanarkand's Blitzball ace, Tidus. At the sound of their approaching footsteps, Lightning turned to Kain and said, "Kain, you're back. Firion wants to talk to you."

Kain turned towards Firion, wordlessly indicating that he was all ears. Firion flustered a little before averting his gaze towards Kain from Lightning. He cleared his throat and took up a rather business-like tone and said, "Golbez wanted us to pass a message to you, he said, 'Tell him that his dreams are futile. That he should not be swayed by 'what ifs'. That he should give it up before it's too late. For the sake of others.'" Firion paused for a moment, contemplating his words before continuing, "He also said that he feared that you let your emotions get in the way…"

There was a long uncomfortable silence that followed. Lightning, Squall and Prishe looked at Firion and Kain with a puzzled expression whilst Tidus looked as though he was bracing himself for an upcoming rage which would come from Kain. Firion looked hesitant, wondering if he should push Kain for answers while Kain merely stood still. His intimidating aura more pronounced than ever.

Until at last, Firion spoke up timidly, "Well, if you don't understand them then maybe… ummm… just forget it… we told Golbez that-"

"I never said I did not understand it." Kain said, cutting Firion's speech. "I thank you for taking the trouble of passing the message to me. If you would excuse me, I'm going for another round." With that, he turned and left the campsite again before his companions said another word.

Deeper and deeper he went into the woods, and after about half an hour of walking, Golbez's deep voice greeted him.

"I see that you've received my message," the armor-clad Chaos Warrior stepped into Kain's view without warning.

"How very thoughtful," Kain replied sarcastically.

"You should know," Golbez continued, blatantly ignoring Kain's sarcasm, "Such emotions are futile. This is a world with no happy endings. Or…" He added in a more menacing tone, "Have you forgotten that you have vowed to help me end this war?"

Kain snorted in response, "I haven't. But I don't see your plans working out either."

"You are free to suggest an alternative," Golbez replied casually, "But mark my words… They WILL work out in the end." And before the echoes of his deep resonating voice faded, he was gone.

Kain frowned at Golbez's sudden disappearance and stood there in silence for a long while. He finally set off in the opposite direction from the campsite. _It's time to pay _him_ a visit,_ he thought.

…

Kain took off from the woods and followed a meandering mountain path until he reached a gateway. This gateway was effectively hidden amongst the snowy mountains. Few could have hoped to reach it before giving up to the harsh weather condition.

As Kain reached the gateway, he made haste to the entrance to escape from the blaring gale and freezing cold. But as he entered, he was greeted with a sweep of a dual-bladed sword in his direction. Ever alert and ready, Kain effortlessly summoned his lance to block the impromptu attack.

The wielder of the dual-bladed sword smirked at Kain's defense and separated his sword, creating two single handed swords. He swiftly slashed his blades in the air to create razor sharp winds which flew in Kain's direction. But Kain quickly jumped, slicing the skies of the gateway and landed behind the armor-clad man with his lance pointing at his throat.

The man finally gave a satisfied smile and withdrew his weapons. "You are as strong as ever, Kain. It always gives me pleasure to spar against you."

"So as I, Gabranth," Kain too gave him a small smirk and withdrew his lance.

"I was wondering when you would come and visit…" Gabranth said casually as he seated himself on the throne-like structure in the room. His gestures made it seem as though Kain had just dropped in for tea.

"Let's quit the formalities, shall we?" Kain said, his voice growing impatient with unnecessary pleasantries. "I want information."

"Hmph," Gabranth snorted, his mockingly friendly attitude disappearing in an instant, "Making use of a warrior not involved in the conflict as a spy. How very witty." He remarked sarcastically.

"We all work towards the same goal, don't we, Judge Magister Gabranth?" Kain replied with an equally scathing tone.

"I never said I have any objections," Gabranth calmly replied.

…

"I see," Kain finally said after he had heard Gabranth's report. "Tell the Warrior everything you have just told me. Only he can recall those lost souls." With that, he turned his back, and exited the gateway.

At the exact same time that the cold mountain wind greeted him, he was held at gunpoint.

To be exact, by a gunblade.

"How's your little midnight stroll, Kain?" Lightning asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Lightning? So you've been following me?" Kain asked, his usually calm and stoic voice betrayed him with a hint of astonishment.

"Not you," Lightning said as she casually withdrew her gunblade and tilting it against her shoulder, "Golbez. I saw him near the campsite earlier and followed him. I saw you talking to him, he disappeared, and I followed you here."

"I see…" was Kain's only reply. He was at a loss for words. He debated mentally whether he should tell Lightning the whole truth.

"Care to explain?" Lightning asked, her voice was calm but he sensed her suspicion.

"I just ask that you trust me…" Kain said half-heartedly. He wished that Lightning would not be involved in his dangerous tasks, but he knew that such an answer would not convince her.

And he was right.

"I can't trust you if you don't tell me anything," she said.

Knowing that he had lost, Kain began to tell Lightning of Golbez's plans; of how Golbez, himself and the Warrior of Light had conspired to end the war once and for all; of how they had came across Gabranth, an outsider, and recruited him; of a mysterious mage they had relied on; of how they planned to turn the Chaos warriors against one another… The plans that they have created for months now seemed like a tall tale coming from his mouth, and Kain could not help thinking that Lightning might find that as an excuse for him being caught red-handed as a traitor. Finally, he told Lightning of the information he had just received from Gabranth.

"Tifa and Zidane are being controlled by Ultimecia and Kefka seemed to have tinkered with Terra and Cloud's minds." Kain said, ending his story on that note.

Lightning had kept absolutely quiet throughout his whole recount, barely even fidgeting. She stood there leaning against the mountain with her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on the snow at her feet. As Kain wrapped up with the final bit of information, she turned her icy blue eyes on him and asked again for confirmation, as though she found his last statement unbelievable, "So according to this Gabranth, some of our allies are being controlled?"

"Yes," Kain said, "Gabranth makes it his priority not be found out by any other warriors and he's been here far longer than any of us. He knows many shortcuts within gateways and such, making him a valuable spy. With regards to our mind-controlled allies, I've asked Gabranth to pass a message to the Warrior of Light."

"What about Golbez?" Lightning asked, "Can he really be trusted?"

"Golbez cares only for Cecil's well-being." Kain replied shortly.

Lightning averted her gaze away from Kain and once more stared motionlessly at the pile of snow. A few seconds later, she stood up straight and told him, "We'll set off first thing in the morning to warn the rest. For now, we rest."

If Kain was not the stoic, cool person he is; if he was anything like Tidus, Bartz or Vaan; his mouth would have fell open as wide as possible at Lightning's condensed reply. His helmet masked the surprise registering on his face well, but his voice was unable to suppress it, "You don't doubt my credibility?"

"I guess I don't," Now it was Lightning's turn to give Kain a puzzled look. Whoever on earth will complain about being trusted?

After a momentarily silence, Lightning finally spoke slowly, "I don't remember it well, but I know that I have lost a sister once… all because I did not trust her. No amount of apology could fix that. I guess… I've learnt to trust the people around me. All these time you've been fighting as our ally and you suddenly turn your back on us? I'm not buying that."

Words could not express the overflowing feeling of gratitude that Kain felt towards Lightning as she said those words. In times of war, when trust is priceless and scarce, the knowledge of having allies who trusted him regardless of circumstances was an extremely valuable feeling. Still, Kain said to her, "Thank you, Lightning."

…

Meanwhile, Gabranth have located the elusive Warrior of Light. Appearing before him, Gabranth told him, "I've got a job for you, Nameless Warrior." And he began telling him all about the mind-controlled Cosmos Warriors.

"Only you can liberate them, Warrior." Gabranth finally said.

"I understand, that I will do," the Warrior of Light said matter-of-factly. The mysterious warrior was not one known to display any form of emotion. Many of his enemies and allies alike have dubbed him the nicknames 'robot', 'statue' and 'doll'. But in times of crisis and need, this nameless warrior is definitely someone his allies can rely upon. He never falters.

As Gabranth turned to leave, the Warrior of Light issued a final reminder, "Don't let anyone else know you exist."

Gabranth merely grunted in response, "I don't need you to tell me that."


	10. Chapter 10

Jecht's Story

On that same fateful night, Yuna and Jecht too had their fair share of adventures, and misgivings. The two had come across the scatterbrained Laguna earlier that evening and now Laguna was insisting on him leading the way. Yuna and Jecht had discussed their options and decided that it would be wiser to inform Cosmos herself about Cloud's experience with the manikins and with Laguna in tow, they were struggling to find their way back to the Order's Sanctuary.

"I told you it's that way!" Jecht said, getting impatient.

"No," Laguna replied confidently, "I really believe that this way is a shortcut."

"You've been leading us in circles for hours now!" cried an exasperated Jecht.

"We'll make it there eventually," Laguna cheerily said, completely oblivious to Jecht's impatience.

"Sir Jecht! Sir Laguna!" Yuna called out to them, "There's a bonfire up ahead. Maybe it's one of our allies!"

"We better ask for directions!" Jecht breathed a sigh of relief and the trio headed in the direction of the fire they saw.

The campsite turned out to belong to Cecil Harvey and the little Onion Knight. They greeted the approaching wanderers warmly and invited them to join in for a break.

"The Sanctuary?" The Onion Knight asked in an incredulous tone as Jecht told them of their destination, "You're severely lost then. The Sanctuary's over the other direction."

Jecht glared at the blushing Laguna. "Well anyone can make mistakes," Laguna said, scratching his head bashfully.

But Cecil interrupted before a fight was to break out between the two. He turned to Jecht and asked, "What manner of bad news do you need to tell Cosmos about, Jecht?"

"Well you see..." Jecht began, averting his deadly glare from Laguna. But he saw a shadow in the distance, along with a group of crystalline figures which made him stop in his speech. The other warriors too followed and turned in the direction where he was staring. They narrowed their eyes and observed wordlessly before finally making out the silhouettes of Bartz and Vaan fighting a bunch of manikins in the darkness.

"Manikins, eh?" Jecht finally said, getting up as he twisted his arms and cracked his knuckles. "Let the big Jecht handle them." He dragged his massive sword and headed into Bartz and Vaan's direction.

While Bartz and Vaan were not exactly overwhelmed, Jecht's arrival certainly helped them to destroy the manikins faster. Jecht's heavy sword spared no mercy in crushing the crystal imitations while Bartz and Vaan's blades sliced effortlessly through the soulless creatures. In a couple of minutes, all that was left were a few sparkling shards on the ground and three victorious warriors.

"Thanks old man," Bartz said to Jecht while the latter raised an eyebrow at the nickname. The three headed back to the campsite where the other three warriors were watching the fray with great interest, ready to strike should the need arise.

Yuna was the first to greet them. "Are you all right, Sir Jecht? Bartz? Vaan?" she asked, concerned.

Jecht gave her a grin and said, "You bet. Those lowlifes are no match for the mighty Jecht!"

"So, did something happen with the two of you?" Cecil turned to ask Vaan and Bartz. The usually carefree duo was registering an unfamiliar expression of worry on their faces.

The two looked at each other for a moment, as though contemplating where to begin, before Bartz finally spoke up. "It's about Terra, well, and Cloud," he said anxiously, "They're acting really strange." And he and Vaan began to recount to the rest their whole experiences in the forest earlier.

Gasps can be heard as they told the others of their story. As they finished, the whole campsite was in silence. It took a while before Cecil finally said, "Could they be… mind-controlled?"

"It's not improbable," Vaan said gloomily, "We were thinking of telling as many people as we can, to keep a lookout for them. Or better, we would like to tell Cosmos."

"Well," Yuna slowly said, "We were thinking of going back to the Sanctuary to tell Cosmos something too." And now it was Jecht and Yuna's turn to inform them about Cloud's experience and warning.

"So," the Onion Knight said, "We can assume that after Cloud got separated from you guys, he met Terra in the woods, and something happened to them." The others nodded fervently.

"Yuna, you look pale," Cecil commented, seeing the color drain out of Yuna's usually rosy face.

"I…" she stammered hesitantly, "I am worried about Tidus." She knew that it was not only Tidus that she had to worry about, but she cannot help wondering if the blitzball ace was alright.

Cecil breathed a sigh of relief as he found out what Yuna was worried about. He gently told her, "Yuna, Tidus is alright. We met him earlier. He was with Firion."

"Is that so?" Yuna said happily. It was her turn to breathe a sigh of relief and the color slowly returned to the face. She placed her hand over her chest and a small smile formed on her lovely lips. "I'm relieved to hear that. Thank you, Cecil."

"You're welcome." Cecil smiled back at her. "If I may suggest, maybe we should converge with all the others first."

"To confirm the list of absentees, eh?" Jecht said, "Not a bad idea."

"Or to confirm the list of traitors…" an anomalous voice creepily joined in the conversation.

They quickly turned and came face-to-face with the Emperor of Palamecia. Clad in gold armor and purple cape, the lavishly dressed Emperor Mateus was a sore sight in the calm and peaceful night.

"What do you want!?" Jecht growled, his hands clutching the grip of his sword.

"I mean no harm tonight," Mateus calmly replied, "I simply have information that there are traitors amongst both our factions."

None of the Cosmos Warriors said a word; they simply stared at the Emperor, waiting for him to continue. Mateus drawled slowly, enjoying the dramatic effect that he has created, "You see, traitors are the most dangerous type of enemy. They can strike from the back."

"Just cut to the chase!" Vaan barked at him.

Feigning surprise, the Emperor smiled and continued, "I have information that Kain and Golbez are meeting regularly, and I have seen them once before. I fear that they have their own plans… to steer this war to suit their terms."

"Why should we believe you?" Cecil retorted. Kain was his best friend and Golbez was his brother. He would not easily believe that the both of them are traitors.

"Believe what you like," the Emperor smirked, "It's your loss if you don't believe me anyway." And without another word, he was gone.

"Geez," Jecht said, "I really hate their habits of teleporting here and there." He nonchalantly seated himself back on the rock beside the bonfire, as though he had nothing more of a short conversation about weather with an old friend. He knew the Emperor better than swallow his words whole and had resolved to ask Kain personally about it when he meets him. However, with one look, he could tell that some of his companions begged to differ.

Bartz, Vaan and the Onion Knight were pale in the face, and looks of disbelief were clearly evident. Jecht could tell that these youngsters have a hard time trusting Kain. After all, Kain himself was much of a loner and that did not contribute positively to these kids' trust in him. Yuna, on the other hand, looked pretty much unperturbed as she sat down beside Jecht. Knowing Yuna, Jecht knew that she would trust Kain no matter what, even IF he was caught red-handed. _She would probably try to reason with him and such,_ Jecht thought. But, the look on Cecil's face was unperceivable. Jecht knew of the shock Cecil must be feeling. It was not so much as trusting Mateus's words, but rather the shock that whatever plans Kain and Golbez might have, they weren't sharing it with him.

"Y'know," Jecht said, trying to break the silence, "Why not we all get some rest and set off before dawn tomorrow? Then we can find Kain and the others before they leave camp." The others murmured their agreement and took their places to chance a short sleep. Satisfied, Jecht said, "I'll go patrol for a bit," and left the camp.

As Jecht destroyed a lone manikin, a voice was suddenly heard behind him.

"Oh, Jecht! You really are too strong~!" _It sounded like a stray fan from Zanarkand,_ Jecht thought as he turned his back to find Tifa.

"Tifa!?" Jecht asked, puzzled.

Smiling seductively, Tifa walked up to Jecht and ran her fingers up Jecht's muscular chest before whispering to him, "What do you say to a night, Jecht? Just you and me…"

"With a kid as big as you!?" Jecht asked surprised and amused at the same time, "What would other people say?"

"No one will know," Tifa smiled even wider, "It'll be our dirty little secret…"

"Heh," Jecht grunted appreciatively, "You sure know how to flirt… BUT I AIN'T FALLING FOR THAT!" With a sudden roar, he pushed Tifa roughly back, causing her to roll on the ground. "Show your true form!" He said savagely, pointing his sword at her.

As if overcome by madness, Tifa slowly picked herself up and chuckled creepily. But the moment she got to her full height, it was Ultimecia's image that Jecht saw overlapping Tifa's solid form.

"You…." Jecht growled in anger.

"Hahahaha," Tifa laughed, but the voice which rang in Jecht's ears was Ultimecia's creepy voice. "Impressive, Jecht! Although you should've accepted my offer. The girl won't touch you without my control…"

"You disgust me, witch!" Jecht snapped at her, mustering his whole strength to keep himself from harming Tifa.

"Pass a message to Squall," Ultimecia said smugly, "Tell him to come for the girl personally… if he still cares…" And with a reverberating laugh, she disappeared in a flurry of feathers.

"Damn, I really hate those stupid teleportation techniques!" Jecht grumbled as he headed back for the campsite.

…

Elsewhere, a wandering Gabranth caught sight of the mysterious swordsman, Gilgamesh. He was astonished at the sight of him. The unfamiliar red-clad man had somehow made his way into a world in which he was not summoned. An idea then struck Gabranth. If this swordsman can fight for their cause, he would be a useful ally indeed.

"You," Gabranth called out to him, "You are not a warrior of this conflict…"

The swordsman searched clumsily for the source of the voice before finding Gabranth. He then casually said to him, "No. Why does everyone keep asking me that lately? All I want is to find Bartz."

Gabranth smiled. He had just gotten the key. "I'm afraid Bartz is busy. This war… as long as it rages, Bartz wouldn't face you. You won't find glory or fame or riches here… not as long as the war continues."

Gilgamesh caught the hint. "So I have to end the war before I can face Bartz?" he asked with his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"You can help me with the… ahh… backstage preparations." Gabranth cunningly said, "We are warriors who are not supposed to play any part in this conflict. We are free to alter the course of history."

Gilgamesh frowned in confusion. "Did you come from the Rift too?" he asked, almost innocently.

"No," Gabranth answered, "I am but a warrior cast aside by the tides of time over the course of these endless cycles of destruction."

"Well…" Gilgamesh said, contemplating Gabranth's words as he did. "If I can't face Bartz unless the war ended, then I guess I have no choice but to help you for the time being."

"You'll come when summoned then?" Gabranth asked.

"A swordsman never goes back on his word!" Gilgamesh assured him.

And Gabranth gave a satisfied smile.


	11. Chapter 11

Cloud's Story

Cloud sat on one of the rocks scattered throughout Planet's Core. The swirling of the lifestream did little to ease his dizziness. He was tired and sleepy. It felt as though every inch of his body is rebelling against his will. His mind struggled to break free of his control. His eyelids relentless tried to close. But still he fought. If he were to fall asleep, who is to say whether he can still control that last sliver of his mind left when he wakes up.

Terra was stirring in her sleep. She should wake anytime soon now, and Cloud was desperately trying to decide whether he should keep her unconscious. He did not know whether she would remain still when she could not find any Cosmos Warriors nearby, or rampage the whole continent in search of one.

Just then, a ray of light struck an inch away from his foot. _An ambush,_ he thought as he reflexively unsheathed his sword to face the assailant. He gaped at the sight of the Warrior of Light landing elegantly on a floating rock above him. He stared hard at the panting Cloud, evaluating him. Then, without any words or explanations, the enigmatic warrior charged forward at him.

Cloud blocked his first attack but his opponent was relentless. Again and again Cloud barely managed to block the Warrior of Light's slashes of sword. The throbbing in his head grew ever more violent with every blow the Warrior struck at him.

_Is this a good time to give up?_ Cloud thought. But he paid dearly for that sliver of momentarily hesitation. With another harsh blow, the Warrior of Light struck him down. He fell on the ground and his sword feel about two feet away from him. Groaning in pain, he struggled to pick his head off the ground. There he saw the Warrior of Light, standing in front of him with his sword held high above his head, a beam of light shining with the sword at its core. As the light grew brighter and brighter, Cloud squinted his eyes until he could see no more.

As suddenly as it began, he found the Planet's Core back to the way it once was. The Warrior stood there silently, waiting for him to take the next move. Cloud got up, picked up his Buster Sword and growled at the silent warrior, "What the hell do you think you're doing!? Aren't we allies!?"

The Warrior gave a small smile and said, "We are now that you're sane again."

Cloud barely realized that the throbbing and whispering voices in his head were gone. He stood there dumbfounded, staring at his hand, moving his fingers, wanting to make sure that his body is willing to return to his control. And they did. His hands moved exactly as he willed them to, and so did other parts of his body. But before he could say anything to the Warrior of Light, a demented voice rang through the area…

"Warriors of Cosmos, I will destroy you!" Terra had regained consciousness, but not her sanity. Knowing that they have to act quickly, Cloud turned to the Warrior who nodded in response. They would have to work together to bring Terra back, before she unleashes unfathomable magic onto them.

Nimbly, Cloud jumped from rock to rock, catching Terra's attention as she unleashed a flurry of fireballs at him. The Warrior meanwhile unleashed a series of lightwaves which successfully hit Terra, knocking her back. But she was not down, in fact, she let out a deranged growl and in a flash of light, she turned into a purple Esper; a mystical cross between a summon beast and her usual form as a girl.

As an Esper, Terra's attacks grew more violent than ever, unleashing more than just magic spells but also swipes of her claws.

"We have to wait until it wears out," the Warrior of Light told Cloud as he blocked a series of Holy spells.

"The moment it wears out, I'll try to hold her down. You do whatever you do, fast!" Cloud howled back as he sent three fireballs in Terra's direction. She took the hit as though it was nothing more than bubbles.

The battle raged on ferociously. But it was not too long before Terra finally showed signs of wearing out. The Esper form had drained her magic powers most unceremoniously. With this encouraging sign, the Warrior prepared his move as Cloud drew closer to her.

What happened next seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. With another flash of light, Terra was back to her girl form and Cloud caught both her arms and pinned her back. Exhausted after her transformation, Terra could barely resist Cloud's strong grip even in her frenzied state. Swiftly, the Warrior of Light released the beam of light upon her and soon, she was limp in Cloud's arms.

"Cloud…" She whispered weakly, "Is that you? What happened?"

Cloud smiled at her and replied gently, "It's all right now. Just rest." And with that, Terra closed her eyes and fell asleep. Cloud then turned to the Warrior of Light, unsure of how to express his gratitude. "I… thank you… for this… everything."

"It's my duty." The Warrior said calmly, "But I'm afraid I must burden you with another assignment."

"Just say it," Cloud said.

The Warrior of Light then told him of his plans, requesting that he set off with Terra. Finally he told them, "For now, just rest. You'll need it." With that, he turned his back and left. Before he could contemplate the Warrior of Light's words any further, Cloud had fallen asleep.

…

Meanwhile, Firion was staring at the star-strewn heavens, unable to bring himself to sleep. He had noticed Lightning's absence and could not help wondering where she went. Deep in his thoughts, he had been oblivious to the approaching Tidus.

"Hey, Rosebud!" Tidus called out to him, "Can't sleep?"

"Umm… yeah," Firion replied, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"You worried about Lightning?" Tidus asked. His words pierced through Firion's deepest thoughts. "You like her don't you?"

Firion gaped at him, "I… I… It's nothing like that!" Who was he trying to fool? He could even feel his own face burning. Firion gave a deep sigh and finally relented. "Well… This is going to sound silly…"

"I promise not to laugh," Tidus said grinning broadly.

"Well, you see…" Firion began hesitantly. Even when Tidus promised not to laugh, Firion knew he was going to find his story incredulous. "This connection we have… through the rose… I can't help wondering if we come from the same world. Maybe even… related…"

"Like she may be your wife?" Tidus asked bluntly, for the second time scoring another bull's eye at Firion's thoughts.

Firion's cheeks grew even redder at Tidus's honest remark.

"You're so easy to guess Firion." Tidus said cheerfully, "Don't worry about it. You'll find out if we defeat Chaos!" And the sunny youth went back to find a comfortable spot to sleep.

"Easier said than done…" Firion quietly whispered to himself.

…

"Enemies of Kefka… Must… Destroy!" Terra said as she unleashed a huge glowing orange ball of fire at a silver haired woman wearing almost nothing but a red cape. This woman also had yellow tentacles which seemed to have a mind of their own aiding in her attacks. The sheer power of Terra's Meltdown immediately staggered her. Severely injured, she faces difficulty in hovering above the air as she usually does.

"We will destroy you…" Cloud added before raining down a series of meteors on the woman. She tried to block it with an aura ball, but her diminishing power served little to protect her.

"Hmph!" the Cloud of Darkness snorted, blood trickled down the side of her mouth, "So Kefka decided to turn his back on US and play his own games! I'm not taking these lying down!" And with another blast of purplish black energy ball, she was gone.

Once they were alone, Terra anxiously asked Cloud, "Did it go well?"

"Yeah, I think it did." Cloud assured her. And as though there was an invisible cue, the two began giggling.

"I was so nervous!" Terra said, "I can't help thinking what would happen if I laughed or screw up my lines!"

"Your only lines were 'enemies of Kefka' and 'must destroy'." Cloud said, smiling at her, "how could you screw those up?"

"I don't know," Terra said smiling shyly, "I've never done anything like this before."

"You can practice more with Kuja," Cloud teased her, "He's one hell of a drama queen… and he's our next target."


	12. Chapter 12

Squall's Story

The dawn had barely broken when Cecil's group found Kain's campsite. The moment they stepped foot on the shores of the mystic lake, the little Onion Knight had attacked Kain verbally.

"Kain! You owe us an explanation! What were you and Golbez planning?"

There were gasps heard from Squall, Firion, Tidus and Prishe who were totally unaware of the matter. All eyes turned to stare at Kain, but he did not flinch.

"I'm afraid it does not concern you," he replied calmly.

"Oh yes it does!" the Onion Knight adamantly insisted. "So you admitted planning something with Golbez? You… you're a traitor!" Shaking with anger, the Onion Knight drew his sword and aimed them at Kain as he jumped forward.

Screams can be heard from Yuna, Bartz and Prishe, each telling the Onion Knight to stop in their own ways. But before the blade of his sword can reach Kain, the Onion Knight was countered by none other than Lightning. With a swift slash of her gunblade, she knocked the Onion Knight back effortlessly.

"Get a hold of yourself!" She lashed at him, much to the shock and awe of their fellow companions.

"He's a traitor!" the Onion Knight indignantly protested.

"You know nothing of traitors! You're just a kid!" Lightning said furiously, losing her temper. But the Onion Knight seemed to be impacted more by her words than any of them expected. Those watching the argument were expecting the stubborn little knight to pick up his sword and charge forward once again. But he did not. Instead, he stood there, pale in the face and dumbstruck with a look mixed of anger and disappointment.

"Now, now, it's not the time for this," Jecht said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Thing is, we got another problem on our hands and it concerns_ you_," he said, pointing at Squall.

"Me?" Squall asked with an eyebrow raised, his voice ringing with skepticism. He must have felt that Jecht had pointed at the wrong person.

"Yes you, kid," Jecht said impatiently. "It concerns Tifa. She's being controlled by the time witch, and she personally requested that _you _come and save Tifa," again putting an emphasis on 'you'.

Squall looked even more incredulous now as he struggled to protest out of the situation, "Why should it be me?" But the other warriors were too busy discussing this sudden development that his words were left unheard by a majority of them.

"Does it matter?" Lightning asked him impatiently, apparently still fuming from her previous exchange with the Onion Knight. "Tifa's our ally, we can't leave her."

"We'll all go!" Tidus said excitedly, "We'll help Tifa!"

Squall breathed a deep, long sigh. It was going to be a long day.

…

The large group of Cosmos Warriors made their way to Ultimecia's favorite hideout, a dilapidated castle. The castle lie in shambles with its remaining walls covered in moss and ivy. Despite its current state, it has the unmistakable air of grandeur that Ultimecia loved.

"Whoever built these things?" Tidus remarked as they stepped into the castle. Sunlight seeped through cracks in the walls as they travelled down the musky corridors. They moved warily, straining their ears to detect any signs of movement. It was not long before the narrow gloomy corridor brought them to a courtyard.

There, standing in the middle of the courtyard, eagerly awaiting their arrival was Zidane. He gave an almost maniacal laugh as they arrived and said, "Welcome. Ultimecia's been expecting you. But I'm afraid you're too much of a crowd… My lady requests that only Squall shall go on."

Squall turned to his companions, bewildered. His gaze clearly asking them what he should do. Jecht nudged him forward, softly whispering, "We'll catch up once we're done with this one." Reluctantly, Squall headed through a set of doors behind Zidane and travelled through the corridors alone.

Squall never had qualms about working alone. But this was different. This was a mission which he did not even want to accept. He failed to see why saving Tifa was now his responsibility. Squall was never good with people and that meant that rescue missions were a burden to him as well. With a great sigh, he gripped his gunblade and hastened his pace, resolving to get this over and done with.

He soon found himself in a throne room where Tifa sat, waiting. Except it was Ultimecia in Tifa's body. Her eyes lit instantly at the sight of Squall.

"My, Squall…" she said in an amused tone, "You came after all…"

"Now let Tifa go," Squall said succinctly.

"Never one for pleasantries, are you?" Ultimecia crooned, "But I want to enjoy this. And today… _you _play by _my_ rules." She slowly got up from her throne and created purple arrows which froze in midair, all pointing in his direction. "Now, shall we?" she asked, an evil smirk formed on Tifa's face.

Without further warning, the dozens of arrows rained down on him. Squall reflexively defended himself, blocking arrow after arrow and deflecting them back in Ultimecia's direction. But the arrows disappear as soon as they touch her, as though she was a water body, leaving only ripple-like energy forms in their wake. She casually walked up towards Squall who was busy deflecting arrows and readied another spell in her hands. As Squall deflected the last of the arrows, she hurled a blue ball of energy at him.

Squall could not block this magical blast and the effects hurled him several feet across the room. He cursed to himself as he picked himself up. Having to defeat Ultimecia without hurting Tifa's physical form turned out to be troublesome after all.

_At this rate, I have no choice but to hurt Tifa badly enough that Ultimecia can't continue using her,_ Squall thought bitterly. He quickly evaluated his next moves before Ultimecia launched her next series of magical arrows. He ran in her direction as he deflected the arrows. The moment he was close enough, Squall unleashed a number of thunder balls, all aimed at Tifa's arms and legs.

The move worked well beyond his imagination. Ultimecia lets out a high-pitched squeal with every thunder ball that hurt her and as the last ball struck her limbs was covered in burn marks. Cursing under her breath, Ultimecia struggled to keep herself steady.

"You… You're not getting me out of this body!" she screamed madly at him. But Ultimecia knew deep down that as unwilling as she was to give up the body, the battle will get nowhere. Hissing angrily, Ultimecia finally gave in.

At that instant, Tifa's body crumbled to the ground. Squall rushed to her side, holding her up. Tifa slowly opened her eyes and smiled weakly at Squall before whispering to him, "you came… my knight came… I'm… glad…"

Squall shook his head fervently, "I'm no knight. If I was, you wouldn't even have to go through this."

But before Tifa could say anything, Ultimecia interrupted them. "Enough! You two can continue your loving moment in the afterlife!" Her voice was highly deranged now, straining to contain the immeasurable rage inside her. She readied another magic spell in her hands, chuckling psychotically as she did so…

But she never got to launch her final spell. At that very moment, a sword pierced through her chest. She gave a final look of shock and anguish before fading away into countless black feathers.

Beyond the raven-colored feathers, Squall caught sight of the armor-clad Warrior of Light and on the doorway stood all his other companions, including Zidane.

"It's all over now," the Warrior of Light announced, "Zidane is back and it seems Tifa has returned too."

Squall gave a small nod before carrying Tifa up. She was still weak from her ordeal, but she gave him an appreciative smile. Once they set up a camp, Yuna would be able to heal her wounds.

"Now that the witch's gone, we can set up a camp on the courtyard." Zidane suggested, "It's a pretty nice spot." He too looked exhausted by his experiences. With a murmur of agreement, the group headed out towards the courtyard where they faced Zidane earlier.

Halfway out of the throne room, however, the Onion Knight gave a sudden loud exclamation. "Wait! Lightning and Kain are missing!"


	13. Chapter 13

Lightning's Story

As Lightning travelled through hills and plains with Kain, she could not help wondering if her companions had successfully purged Ultimecia. Things had happened so fast. They were fighting defensively against Zidane, wondering the best way to get his senses back when the Warrior of Light appeared. He swiftly brought Zidane back to his senses with Jecht holding Zidane down. As their other companions rushed to aid Squall, the Warrior of Light had passed Kain a simple message, "Cloud and Terra are on the move. It's your turn. Now go and find ExDeath." And he too, joined in the others in search of Squall, Tifa and Ultimecia.

Without a moment to lose, Kain had turned on his heels and without another second of hesitation, Lightning had followed him. On their way, Kain had consulted a lone moogle which informed them that it has sighted ExDeath at the nearby hills earlier that day. There are plenty of moogles roaming around this world, but most of the time, they are rather elusive, preferring to have as little to do with the war as possible. It was sheer luck which brought them face to face with one when they needed it.

Hoping fervently that ExDeath was still there, Lightning and Kain ran as fast as possible without stopping to catch their breath. When they finally reached the hills the moogle had indicated, the sight of a bulky light-blue figure ironically comforted them.

"Imbeciles…" ExDeath menacingly snarled as he caught sight of them, "Why have you come?"

"Nothing less than to get rid of you," Lightning nonchalantly replied, unsheathing her gunblade as she did so. Kain too readied his lance beside her.

"Hmph," ExDeath snorted his disapproval. "Such arrogance… What makes you think you can do that?" he mockingly sneered.

"Try me." Lightning said and without another warning she had charged forward.

ExDeath found himself at a disadvantage against Lightning's speed. She charged relentlessly at him, sending an unyielding series of slashes and thunderbolts. To make matters worse for him, his defense turned useless as Kain launched his attacks from ExDeath's back.

Lightning and Kain's teamwork was flawless. Both had been perfectly trained and adapted for battle and both could read each other's moves and follow up accordingly. A thunderbolt from Lightning. A pierce of Kain's lance. A series of slashes from Lightning's gunblade. A tornado from Kain. A series of bullets… and on it goes. Before long, ExDeath was so severely weakened that he had to lean on his sword to keep himself from crumbling.

"Lightning!" Kain called out to her, and she understood at once. It was time for the finishing move. As Kain cast a huge tornado, Lightning infused her thunder magic into raging winds. By the time it flew in ExDeath's direction, it was no less than a ferocious storm. The magical entity engulfed ExDeath at once and from within the tempestuous combination of wind and thunder, ExDeath's howls of pain, anguish and rage could be heard… until he shattered into a million tiny splinters. The storm subsided immediately and all that's left was the glowing splinters, blown away by the gentle breeze.

"Kain! Lightning!" A familiar voice can be heard calling out at them. It was Terra, with Cloud following closely behind her.

Lightning smiled at the pair while Kain gave an acknowledging nod before asking, "How did it go?"

"Great!" Cloud replied, "We set Kuja and the Cloud of Darkness against Kefka."

"That's good," Kain said appreciatively, "Now let's pay Kefka a visit."

"Wait," Cloud cut in before Kain began walking away, "There's still Sephiroth and his bizarre manikins. Those manikins are way more aggressive than usual and it's hard to break free of them."

However, Kain simply replied, "You don't have to worry about those manikins. I'll explain later. For now, let's take care of Kefka while he's still facing Kuja and the Cloud of Darkness." And with that, he took off. With a confused look, Lightning, Cloud and Terra followed him.

…

"You puny imbeciles!" Kefka shrieked, "How dare you attack me!?" Frenzied with rage, he fired multiple magic spells successively at the Cloud of Darkness and Kuja.

Kuja blocked them with his own magic powers, but he, like the Cloud of Darkness, was badly worn out from their previous battle with Terra and Cloud. His powers waning, half of the spells managed to pass through his defenses and injure him even more. The Cloud of Darkness too, failed to neither dodge nor block the array of magical assaults and collapsed onto the ground.

"What… were you thinking!?" the silver-haired genome shouted at Kefka, panting wildly as he sent silver balls of light in Kefka's direction, "sending your… puppets at us? You are a traitor!"

"Puppets?" Kefka asked back, his confused look went undetected by neither Kuja nor the Cloud of Darkness. After all, the clown was a violent mixture of lunacy and the unpredictable. Carelessly avoiding Kuja's assaults, he muttered incoherently to himself, "Don't tell me those puppets got out of control? No… Impossible!"

"You are still playing… this game of yours?" the wraith weakly snarled at him.

Her comment brought Kefka's thoughts back on the battlefield. He gave a fanatical laugh before he fired another flurry of magic spells at them, chuckling as he did so, "Whatever your reasons may be… YOU have attacked ME! You deserve nothing less than death and destruction!" Creating a huge blast as its finale, the forms of Kuja and the Cloud of Darkness faded within it as Kefka laughed maniacally.

"You shouldn't even consider fighting against me when you've been so badly injured from your previous battle…" Kefka said, grinning at the spot where his fellow warriors once stood.

"And neither should you!"

Without warning, a violent mixture of fire, water, wind and thunder blasted him away. He fell several feet from his previous position, growling in pain. The colossal ball of raging energy had inflicted massive damage on him. Blood trickled down his head and his left eye, but even through the stream of red, he could make out the figures of Lightning, Kain, Terra and Cloud.

Terra and Cloud… That's right! His puppets had indeed gone out of control. Cursing under his breath, he tried to charge up another magic spell to no avail. His magic was drained from his relentless firing in the previous battle, and his current condition contributed nothing to it.

"I promise I'll make this quick." Kefka could hear Kain say. And a split second later, he felt Kain's lance pierce through his back and emerge from his abdomen. His last view was that of his hands evaporating into a mist of black swirls.


	14. Chapter 14

Golbez's Story

The sun was floating low above the horizons. Another day was running out. Lightning, Cloud and Terra were following wordlessly behind Kain who treaded the mountain path confidently in search of another elusive gateway.

How Kain found it in the first place remained a mystery. The gate was perfectly concealed by the natural mountain terrain and a number of plants, including ivy which adorned the stone archway. Following Kain, Lightning, Cloud and Terra entered the gateway apprehensively.

Inside the gateway was a spacious rocky chamber filled with the oddest combination of artifacts that neither of them has ever seen before. Oddly colored liquid in flasks of different sizes, spell books, monster carapaces, electrical wiring… and even a dozen or so still crystal manikins. Seated in the center was a short elf-like woman barely three feet tall.

Kain walked up towards the woman and gave a slight bow to show his respect to the unfamiliar woman. "Lady Shantotto, I expect you are ready?"

"Ohohoho. Why if it isn't Kain!" the woman named Shantotto chuckled happily at Kain's arrival. She, however, eyed the other three suspiciously. "Tell me my knight, who they are, might?"

"Allies," Kain said without lifting up his head. "Of that you can be assured."

"I must admit I hate sharing, but on your account I'll be forgiving." Shantotto haughtily replied, giving a condescending look at Lightning, Cloud and Terra.

"Oohhhh!" Terra abruptly exclaimed, "So you are _the _mage Shantotto? Cosmos's right-hand mage! I've heard the moogles speak of your name." Terra, who has good rapport with the moogles, have heard of tales of the legendary mage of cycles past from them. Being a fellow mage, she had both respected and feared the name, and yet still looked forward to meeting the mysterious legend.

"Well yes my dear," Shantotto replied, looking pleased. "It's a pleasure to have you here." Lightning rolled her eyes and Cloud raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in attitude after Terra praised her. Fortunately, Shantotto was too busy flustering over her still manikins to notice their less respectful demeanor. "If you came to ask for an army, you can be assured you'll get it. For now you can take these dozen, I'll follow up as you see fit."

And so they left the gateway with a dozen manikins at their heels. It was a strange sensation, having the puppets they had established as their enemies following their commands. Once far enough from the gateway, Kain explained to them, "Shantotto was allowed to leave the war because of her extensive contribution towards Cosmos some cycles back. She stayed behind to study more of the world, especially the manikins. And recently she successfully devised a method to control them. It's best to keep her happy. She's a legend for a reason."

…

Sephiroth put up a brilliant resistance; shattering the crystal imitations he thought he had control of one by one. The ruse to make Sephiroth lower his guard had little effect on the ever alert ex-SOLDIER 1st Class. Nevertheless, the knowledge that the manikins were now beyond his control did have an impact on him as registered by his sharp features. His icy blue eyes darted back and forth in search of the culprit who unleashed these abominable dolls on him.

Before the last crystal imitation shattered, Kain, Lightning, Terra and Cloud had personally entered the fray, resolving, stronger than ever, to 'kill' the opposing Chaos Warriors. If they manage to fell every one of them, they would be free to face Chaos, the God of Discord themselves. And that would happen before Shinryu could revive all the 'dead' warriors and restart the war should all the warriors of one faction fall... Since Golbez would remain the only non-opposing Chaos Warrior left standing at the end of the day.

Focusing on their ever nearing goal, their sheer number and willpower overpowered even Sephiroth.

Halfway through the ferocious battle, however, Sephiroth was struck down by an outsider. A long blade of dark purple rays had pierced through his body. The four warriors of Cosmos could only stare in astonishment as Golbez withdrew the deadly rays and Sephiroth, like Ultimecia, faded away into a flurry of black feathers.

"I guess it's time we answered to everyone else," Golbez said as he looked up at the swirling feathers blown by the wind. Kain and the others nodded in agreement. It was time for them to work together; time to put aside conspiracies and hidden agendas. The truth must now be known to every warrior on their side. "I wonder if Cecil and the rest could trust me as all of you did." He added hesitantly.

"They would," Terra assured him, smiling warmly. "Once we tell them everything, I'm sure everyone will be able to trust one another completely now."

Golbez stared at her for a moment before nodding his appreciation. "They should still be at Ultimecia's Castle right now." He informed them and with their hearts soaring with hope, the five warriors began walking.


	15. Chapter 15

Tifa's Story

Squall was sitting alone on a cliff overlooking the seas, some distance away from the castle which had been converted into their campsite. He had deliberately picked a spot further away so as to avoid being dragged into Bartz, Laguna, Zidane and Vaan's noisy conversations and he was pleased at his own success in sneaking out without the rowdy group realizing it.

The sun was setting, creating a beautiful gradient of red and orange on the vast cloudless sky. The sound of waves beating rhythmically on the rocks below was calming and the gentle sea breeze was soothing. For a moment, Squall seemed to forget that he was trapped in this war-ravaged world.

"Squall?" A gentle voice called out to him. He turned to see Tifa Lockhart walking up the steep slopes towards him. Tifa had changed her appearance. She had cut off half of her long dark brown hair, now extending only up to her back compared to before when it extended all the way to her legs. She had also ditched her skimpy white tank top and mini skirt in favor of a black leather top and a black skirt with a longer hem at the back completed with biker shorts and boots.

As though she could feel Squall's focus on her sudden change in appearance, Tifa gave him a smile and shyly said, "I thought I'd try something new. They say that when people cut their hair, their mood can change along with it. I'd like to try that."

"Looks good," Squall said. Tifa smiled even wider, her cheeks reddening as she did. A short phrase like that meant a lot coming from Squall.

"Can I join you?" Tifa asked.

"Sure." Squall replied and Tifa sat herself down beside Squall.

The two sat there in silence for a long while, admiring the sunset. Time seemed to stand still in that moment. After what seemed like ages, Tifa hesitantly broke the silence, "Squall… I'd like to thank you… for saving me back there." She paused, waiting to see Squall's reaction. But when Squall gave no response, she continued, "And I'm sorry… if I ever made you angry."

Again there was silence. Tifa felt so nervous and disappointed that she felt she wanted to run away as far as possible and hide herself from Squall. As she got up to return to the campsite, she heard him say, "Tifa… Don't sweat it. I apologize too… for being so harsh on you Next time… we'll work together." And he turned to look at the sun setting against the watery horizon again. But Tifa could swear that at that very moment, Squall's face had a tinge of pink on it…

_It's probably just the sun…_ she thought, smiling to herself as she walked back towards the campsite.

…

Vaan's Story

Meanwhile, Vaan, Laguna, Bartz and Zidane were playing on the beach some distance away from the cliff where Squall was sitting. They sat on the warm sand, listlessly playing with the sand and several twigs and seaweed which were washed up on the shore. All of them were having fun, cracking jokes, teasing the airheaded Laguna, mimicking voices of the other Warriors, chatting on girls among many other stuff.

Suddenly, Vaan asked them an unexpected question, "Hey guys… Just asking really, but what dreams do you have?"

The other three all gave him confused looks. Bartz and Zidane both scratched their chins and rolled their eyes as their minds search for answers. Laguna, on the other hand, scratched his head and replied, "Well, I had a dream last night about being so hungry that I had to hunt down a moogle to eat. It was really scary and-"

"No, no!" Vaan interrupted him, "What I meant was more along the lines of, what would you like to do after you get home?" Laguna gave him an I-finally-got-it-look and began scratching his head once more for an answer.

After a moment of consideration, Zidane finally spoke up, "For me, I'd like to be part of an acting troupe. It's kinda romantic isn't it? Moving from place to place, acting out famous or original scenes, living many people's lives, meeting new girls…" The others chuckled at his answer. No matter what Zidane intends on doing, he is never going to leave out the factor of girls.

"Girls cramp me up," Laguna said sheepishly, "Not that I don't like them but I need time to get used to one. For me, I'd like to be a journalist. People have lots of untold stories that are inspirational, romantic, or just simply interesting."

"As for me," Bartz piped in, "I'd like to be a travelling comedian; a mimic artist. I wanna cheer people up. Give them a reason to laugh. This war… it brought down everybody's spirits. When it all ends, I want everybody to be able to smile. Who knows, Zidane, if our travels brought us together, we can do a joint venture!" Zidane gave a thumbs-up sign at the idea. The thought of being able to work together with your best friend, no matter how futile that hope is, is still a wonderful feeling.

"What about you, Vaan?" Zidane asked, turning back to Vaan.

"Well, for me," Vaan said, "I want to be a sky pirate!" When the others gave him confused stares, he continued, "I could never remember anything about my past but an image of a clear blue sky filled with many different kinds of airships. It's the only image that keeps reappearing in my dreams. Someday, I'd like to have an airship of my own. I'll search the horizons for unspeakable treasures!"

In a war-torn land, those words may be nothing more than empty talk. But the meanings they held for each of them gave them a newfound determination. Enjoying the rest of the sunset, they continued with their mindless chatter, wondering what would be for dinner.

…

Onion Knight's Story

In one secluded corner of the campsite, the little Onion Knight sat alone, staring blankly at his tiny sword. Unbeknownst to him, Cecil had taken notice of the gloomy stance that he had been taking the whole day despite his isolation from the rest of the group.

"What's the matter?" Cecil asked in a friendly tone as he approached the boy.

"Cecil…" the Onion Knight barely looked up to acknowledge Cecil's presence. He poked his sword onto the ground repeatedly and as he murmured something that did not manage to escape his mouth. As the ground became more and more deformed, he finally spoke up, "Do you see me as just a kid? Tell me honestly."

Cecil took a deep breath before saying, "You were thinking about Lightning's words, I see… Well, the thing with people like Kain and Lightning, they don't always show their emotions or intentions. It's easy to misunderstand them. But since they're our allies, let's just trust them."

"But," the Onion Knight protested, "How can you do that so easily, even after circumstances prove otherwise?"

Cecil gave him a weak smile and said, "If I couldn't, Kain wouldn't be my best friend. I trust him and therefore trust Lightning." Onion Knight was startled by Cecil's answer. It was so simple and yet unfathomable to him. Upon seeing his reaction, Cecil continued saying, "It'll clear up eventually. You know… you don't have to be in such a hurry to grow up. There are some childish traits that even we as adults should hold on to. To be able to trust someone close to you no matter the circumstances is one of them."

The Onion Knight was dumbfounded by those words. While he cannot immediately accept it, he knew that there was a ring of truth in those words. Maybe, he was thinking too much after all. None of the others worry as much as he does. Resolving to take Cecil's advice to wait until things clear up by themselves, he turned to Cecil and said, "Thank you, Cecil. Guess I'll go join the hunting group for our dinner."

…

Warrior of Light's Story

The Warrior of Light sat with Prishe on the outskirts of the castle. He was filling her in on his plans thus far. It felt as though a load had been lifted off his back as he did. Prishe was probably the only one he could truly trust. And the secrets of the plan that he had kept from her all these while tormented him. After all, Prishe had been the one who saved him back when he first appeared in this world.

She not only saved him. She guided him. Even until now, she was a special figure to him. Now that his plans are coming into fruition, the Warrior of Light finally decided that sooner or later, he, Kain and Golbez would have to come clean to every one of their allies and work together. Before having to break the news to the rest of the group, the Warrior had decided to tell Prishe everything he knew first.

Prishe listened intently to his story. Save for a few outbursts of shock, she did not question him at all. At the end of the story, Prishe slowly said, "So that means… we have a fair chance of ending this war now, don't we?"

"I strong believe it," the Warrior of Light said confidently.

"It's not fair!" Prishe suddenly exclaimed. Why do YOU and Kain get to do everything!? Haven't I told you before that you shouldn't bear too much burden on one shoulder!? What are all of us here in this campsite doing? We wait! While Kain, Lightning, Cloud and Terra are risking their lives for us! How do you feel everyone feels if they knew?"

Her sudden outburst gave the Warrior of Light a fair shock. He stammered as he tried to explain to her, "It's… It's not that we don't trust you. If too many people caught wind of the plan, they'll fail to act naturally. And that will attract the enemies' attention."

Prishe pouted at his explanation. Crossing her arms, she kept a rebellious quiet stance for several minutes until she grudgingly said, "No more second chances for you, Mr. McWarrior! And you owe me hamburger steak!"

Seeing that her 'normal' appetite was back, the Warrior of Light can't help but give an amused smile, which Prishe returned. But no sooner had Prishe finally smiled back than a commotion was heard from within the castle courtyards.

They promptly hastened to the campsite to investigate the cause of the commotion, only to find that Kain, Lightning, Terra and Cloud had returned… along with Golbez.


	16. Chapter 16

Lightning's Story

The campsite was in pure, frenzied chaos the moment Lightning, Kain, Cloud, Terra and Golbez returned. A mixture of shock and repulsion greeted Golbez and a wave of suspicion swept over the rest of them, especially Kain. And nearly everyone was talking or screaming at the same time. Some gossiped. Some raised questions. Others voiced their disagreement at having their allies return alongside one of Chaos's minions.

Fortunately, the Warrior of Light arrived just in time to break up the commotion. The de facto leader of Cosmos's Warriors quickly took matters into his own hands and with his business-like manner ordered them to keep their calm. Reluctantly, everyone obeyed.

Once the campsite had quieted down, the Warrior of Light began his speech, "My fellow warriors. I have important news to bear. We have devised a plan to end this cycle for good. As you know, the cycles continuously repeats itself, resurrecting every 'dead' warrior once one side has lost all its warriors. When that happens, there was simply no way for us to face Chaos himself." There was a murmur of astonishment at the idea of tackling the God of Discord directly, but the Warrior of Light paid no heed and continued, "This is the true face of the war. No different from a wheel spinning endlessly on the same spot. We have a couple of reliable informants to thank for telling us the truth. But now, things are different… With Golbez on our side, we are free to challenge the God of Discord. With Golbez still standing, Shinryu would not be able to restart the war, and yet no Warriors of Chaos will stand in our way."

As he paused, the murmurs grew increasingly louder. All the Warriors were having a difficult time believing that all these while, a number of them were plotting behind the scenes, for them to take down Chaos, the God of Discord.

The Warrior of Light then turned towards Kain. Without a word, Kain knew that he was to give the report on the felled Warriors of Chaos. Not exactly popular among many of the other Warriors, amongst accusations of betrayal as well as his taciturn nature, Kain was reluctant to be giving a speech. At that moment, Lightning stepped in.

"ExDeath is down," She said loudly, capturing the attention of the whispering warriors. "So are Kefka, the Cloud of Darkness, Kuja and Sephiroth."

The Warrior of Light nodded approvingly and said, "So is Ultimecia. That means we're left with Garland and the Emperor. Garland is Chaos's right-hand man, that means-"

"That means," Lightning cut in, "Anyone who's interested in joining the fight to bring down the Emperor, can come along as we set off first thing tomorrow morning. Otherwise, you can stay." With that, she strode off.

A long awkward silence followed. Finally, Jecht spoke up, "I don't know 'bout you guys… but big Jecht's definitely in."

…

It turns out; no one wanted to stay behind while the others attack the vain and corrupt Emperor. Lightning's interference made things simpler for Kain and the Warrior of Light with her careless attitude. No one raised anymore questions or objections after that. Everyone got ready for their upcoming battle in their own ways. Some like Laguna and Bartz slept to conserve energy. Others like the Warrior of Light and Cloud fine-tuned their swords. The campsite was brimming with activity. It had been a long while since all of them camped together.

Lightning was sitting on the roof of one of the highest points of the castle, flipping a survival knife open and close repeatedly. The view from her position overlooked the sea, the cliffs and the beach. With the moonlight and stars shimmering in the sky, as well as, through the reflection on the water, it was truly a breathtaking sight.

"What's the matter, Kain?" Lightning had sensed the dragoon who was lurking quietly in the darkness, observing her.

"I was just worried," Kain replied with a hint of sarcasm.

She smirked at the reply and said, "Once we defeat Chaos, we'll all be able to go home right? Get all our memories back."

"Having second thoughts?"

"There's no room for that. I'll fight until the end." Kain smiled at her reply. Lightning's determination and strength of will has always been one of her strengths. But Lightning was not exactly at ease, there was something else bothering her…

"Will we remember our times here?" Lightning suddenly asked, "These people we fought with. These allies we swore to protect. Will it all be for nothing?"

Her question caught Kain by surprise. He had never considered for once that Lightning had subconsciously grown attached to her companions here. He stood pondering over it for a moment before saying, "Even if we forget, our souls remember. Just like how we have no memories of our past now but still recall one thing or another from our homeworlds."

Lightning smiled serenely at his answer. Watching the moon cast playful shadows on the water, the two stayed there for a long time…


	17. Chapter 17

Laguna's Story

Laguna was awoken by the sound of clashing weapons and rowdy cheers. He groggily sat up and saw that a crowd had formed at the center of the courtyard. Everyone was cheering loudly. Wondering what the commotion could be, he got up and dragged his still tired body to the crowd.

He slumped himself on Squall's shoulders and caught side of Cloud and Lightning sparring. It was a fierce battle between the two. And not only was the match exciting, but both seemed to have underwent a makeover within the night.

Cloud was now wearing a fully black outfit with one long sleeved arm and long pants with a partial skirt like flap. He even changed his sword to a more complex looking one compared to his usual Buster Sword. Laguna gave a loud "ooohhh" as Cloud dismantled his sword to create two different sized swords.

But Lightning was the one who went through a more drastic change. No longer wearing her military uniform, she was now clad in silver and gold armor with a skirt of white feathers. She had a shield on one arm and her gunblade had undergone metamorphosis into one that looked more ornate with patterns on it. Zidane gave a wolf whistle as she fired several shots at Cloud, which Cloud blocked.

Equally pumped up watching the match, Laguna cheered on with the others. The match ended with Lightning's gunblade at Cloud's neck and Cloud's giant sword at her abdomen, each a blow away from finishing their opponent.

"Nice," Lightning smirked, withdrawing her gunblade.

"You too," Cloud gave another smirk back in return as he fused back his swords into one.

"Now that Laguna's awake and the match is over, maybe we can set off," Tifa said cheerfully.

"Wait," Laguna said, "You mean all of you were waiting for me?"

"Wake up sleepyhead!" Zidane called out to him.

"Oh I feel bad," Laguna said, blushing as he scratched his head, "You should've just waked me up."

"No one's praising you, you know?" Vaan said, apparently confused by Laguna's reaction.

"Come on," Prishe piped in, "Half of you didn't wake up that early either. You were just woken by the sparring match." Vaan, Bartz and Zidane blushed at her snide remark.

"Let's just get ready to set off," Vaan said sheepishly as he turned to pack up his sleeping bag.

…

Locating the Emperor was no difficult task. He was often sighted at the place they came to acknowledge as the Pandemonium. It was a bizarre palace-like structure, befitting of the self-proclaimed Emperor.

The warriors split into smaller groups of threes and fours as they searched for the Emperor in the huge place. By luck of the draw, Laguna found himself searching the secluded hallways with Cecil and Firion.

"Who lives in a place like this?" Laguna remarked casually as he observed the queer walls of the hallway which was built in hexagonal structures.

Firion smiled weakly at him and said, "Do you really have the time to worry about that?"

"Since we're already here, why not?" Laguna said in his usual carefree manner, but tore himself away from the wall anyway and joined Cecil and Firion who were already further ahead.

Several stairways and hallways later, they found themselves in a strange room. This room was unlike any of the other ones they passed earlier. It was covered with crystal structures, some in the form of upturned pyramids, others in the form of bursting fireworks. Even the color tone in this room is more somber than in other rooms, with its dark blue hue in contrast to the light blue and purplish-pink in the other rooms.

And on the far side of the room, seated on a crystal throne, was their target; the Emperor Mateus of Palamecia.

"So it seems a rat has entered my domains," the Emperor coolly remarked as they entered the room, his view of the doorway unblocked by any of the existing crystal structures.

"We've come to finish you off, once and for all!" Firion exclaimed.

"Or so I've heard," the Emperor calmly replied. With his head propped up against one hand, he looked almost lazy in the eyes of his predators.

His indifference angered Firion. "Why don't you pick yourself up from that seat and we'll fight!?"

"Hmph, you sure act honorable," the Emperor sneered, "For someone who can't fight alone…"

Firion's face flushed red with anger. "If a one-on-one's what you want, that's what you'll get. The others won't intervene!"

Emperor Mateus sat up straight at Firion's declaration and smiled mockingly, "I'm afraid… you'll lose."

…

The sounds of battle brought Bartz, Yuna and Tifa to the crystalline room – the top floor of the Pandemonium. The moment they entered, the sight of Firion dueling against the Emperor greeted them with horror. As they rushed forward to lend him a hand, Laguna blocked their way.

"Firion's gonna be mad if you intervene," he said, his eyes not leaving Firion and the Emperor's battle. Although he sounded cheery and nonchalant as usual, his eyes radiated worry and an unfamiliar seriousness. Bartz could tell that even though Laguna himself admitted that this was Firion's battle, it took a great deal of willpower to stand by as his friend fought to the death.

Gritting his teeth, Bartz watched as Firion fired a fiery arrow at the Emperor at the same time that the Emperor unleashed a number of explosive mines in the air.

It was a heated battle. Time and again Firion got caught in the mines which injured him, but he always managed to retaliate with a move of his own, be it an arrow or the slash of a sword or a reel axe, to injure the Emperor in return.

Soon, all of the wandering warriors had assembled in the crystalline room. All of them worriedly watched as Firion and the Emperor exchanged blow after blow. Tifa, Yuna and Terra all clasped their hands together in silent prayer. Vaan, Tidus, Jecht and Zidane clenched their fists. While the rest all stood alert, ready to pounce on the Emperor if Firion should fall.

Again Firion fired another arrow from the distance, but this time, he was careless. As he jumped and shot the arrow, a mine caught him by surprise from the back, it exploded the moment he touched it and Firion was fell to the ground, covered in burns.

"Stay back!" He shouted at the warriors who had stepped forward.

The Emperor laughed condescendingly at his determination. He raised his staff into the air and spun it round and round, charging an attack while he mocked Firion, "Your pride will be the end of you. If you imbeciles want to finish me off, I'll bring as many of you along with me."

Firion knew he had to act fast. Should that Starfall hit, he knew he had no hope at surviving. Mustering all his energy, he summoned all his weapons and charged it against his bow. The weapons all glowed dangerously red as he released them. As an arrow does, all his weapons flew towards the Emperor. Unable to block the attack, the sword, lance, axe and knives hit the Emperor squarely on the chest in one powerful blow. The charge of Starfall was disrupted and the Emperor fell onto the ground on his arms and knees.

"No…." he groaned, "No…. This can't be!" As he screamed his final outburst of anger, his body disintegrated into purple will-o-wisps, each burning smaller and smaller until it disappears.

Laguna and Cecil quickly rushed forward to support the staggering Firion while Bartz, Zidane, Vaan and Prishe shouted happily, "Three Cheers for Firion! Hip! Hip! Hurray!"

Firion smiled weakly at the rowdy group, silently grateful that he survived to watch the scene.


	18. Chapter 18

Bartz's Story

Firion's wounds were healed in less than no time by the ever-competent Yuna, and before they even left the Pandemonium, Firion was walking steadily again. Beyond the gateways of the Pandemonium, the Warrior of Light suggested they take a short break.

As the group rested on the rocky hills around the Pandemonium, the Warrior of Light went off to search for Shantotto. He gave a short message to Lightning, Kain and Golbez before he left, saying that it was time for Shantotto, as well as Gabranth to join them, requesting Golbez to bring back Gabranth.

While waiting for their return, Bartz, Tidus and Zidane sat apart from the other warriors, busying themselves by doodling random images on the soil. When Bartz drew an image of a gigantic bird, Zidane turned to him and asked, "Hey, that thing you drew... Where did you saw it?"

"Not sure," Bartz said, frowning, "It kept appearing in my dreams."

Zidane too frowned at his answer. "Hmmm… I swear it looks familiar…"

"Big, yellow and carries people around?" Tidus piped in, turning his head to view Bartz's drawing from the correct angle.

"You know them too?!" Bartz asked Tidus and Zidane in surprise.

"I wouldn't say 'knew'," Zidane said shaking his head, "Not when I cannot recall them properly. It's like déjà vu."

"Maybe you're just reminded of Cloud's head," Tidus told Zidane, and he and Bartz both burst out laughing. Zidane stole a glance a Cloud's spiky yellow head and he too started rolling on the ground in a fit of laughter.

The image of a gigantic yellow bird as a substitute for Cloud's hair kept them laughing until at last Bartz said, "It's frustrating… Not knowing even its name. It's like forgetting an old friend."

"We're nearing our goal, remember?" Tidus said, drying his eyes which were wet with tears of laughter. "That means we'll remember everything soon."

Bartz grinned in appreciation and said, "It's been really fun with everyone. Being able to go home is kinda bittersweet."

"Yeah," Zidane agreed, "But I kinda wish that Kuja's here too." he added with a hint of bitterness as he looked at Cecil. "He's not all bad. And above all, he's my brother."

"Well he's not truly dead," Bartz said, trying to cheer Zidane up, "Once the war has ended, he may be sent home with you."

Zidane smiled at his best friend and jokingly said, "Well it's not just Kuja I'm worried about… The war is ending and I still haven't got a girl!"

…

Cecil's Story

Cecil was talking to Kain when Golbez returned with an armor-clad man and a red-caped swordsman, both of whom Cecil have never met. As Golbez approached them, Kain greeted the armor-clad man with a courteous nod before giving him and Golbez a questioning look on their unfamiliar companion.

"Let me introduce you to Gabranth first, Cecil." Golbez said as he gestured towards the armor-clad man, who gave a small nod. "This here," Golbez continued, "is Gilgamesh. Gabranth found him. He's an outsider who came from the Rift. He-"

But Gilgamesh had caught side of Bartz and, with a squeal of delight, ran off towards him.

"How long I've waited for this, Bartz!" He said, halting just behind him.

Bartz turned back to greet the gigantic red-mantled figure. Confusedly, he asked, "Do I know you?"

"Wha-what!? How can you forget me? It's me, Gilgamesh. You owe me a duel, remember?" Gilgamesh said frantically, apparently receiving a rather serious shock by Bartz's lack of memory of him.

But before Bartz could say anything, Gabranth had approached them. He placed one hand on Gilgamesh's shoulder and spoke in a warning tone, "Haven't I told you? Until the war is over, you can't get your duel. Bartz would never remember you as long as the war rages."

Gilgamesh's shoulders drooped at Gabranth's warning and obediently followed him back to where Cecil, Kain and Golbez were waiting, leaving Bartz gaping in bewilderment.

"We'll just have to wait for the Warrior's return," Golbez said. With that, Kain, Gabranth and Gilgamesh all scattered to do their own preparations, but Cecil remained behind with Golbez.

"But, Brother! Why have you left all of us in the dark before this? Why can't you at least tell me? Don't you trust me?!" Cecil cried out. All the bottled feelings and questions he had ever since Golbez requested Firion and Tidus to pass a message to Kain poured out at last.

"Cecil…" Golbez said slowly, "It's not that we don't trust you. But you're too kind to be involved in schemes."

"If it's for the end of the war, don't you think I want to fight for it?" Cecil retorted.

"You would," Golbez replied, "And that's exactly why. All our plans thus far had involved risking even Terra and Cloud's life, those two who weren't in on the plan at first. Could you have held back knowing that they were in danger?"

Cecil was dumbfounded. He wanted to say that he could for everyone's sake, but he knew he could not. He clenched his fists, knowing that his brother was right and he was bitter about it.

"Don't look so bitter," Golbez said, consoling him, "It's your strength, not a weakness."

As Golbez walked off, his last words rang repeatedly in Cecil's head. _'It's your strength, not a weakness.'_ Even if Golbez was trying to console him, his words gave him no assurance.

_If it truly was my strength, why couldn't I contribute anything thus far?_


	19. Chapter 19

Warrior of Light's Story

The Warrior of Light returned not too long after Golbez had returned with Gabranth and Gilgamesh. By his side was Shantotto and they were followed by a troop of about a fifty or so manikins, marching orderly. The queer sight caught most of the warriors by surprise.

A brief introduction to Shantotto and her experiments on the manikins was given by the Warrior of Light while Shantotto stood in her obnoxiously arrogant manner on a rock beside him. With the manikins under their control and with their newly introduced allies, all the warriors are more confident than ever in their quest.

Without wasting any more time, they began their treacherous journey towards the Land of Discord, the heart of Chaos's domain. Garland, Chaos's right-hand man, and their last target, should not be far from where his master was.

It was not an easy journey. The land on the northern hemisphere was rocky and unstable with occasional minor eruptions on random places on the ground. By the time they were near Chaos's domain, Laguna, Tifa, Firion, Cecil, Vaan, Bartz and the Onion Knight have gotten scalded one way or another.

"It should be there," Gabranth pointed to a floating island above glowing lava some distance away from them.

"Ohohoho," Shantotto gave a sudden burst of excited laughter, "I'm glad we're near, for I can't wait anymore I fear."

As he looked at Shantotto's reaction in bewilderment, Bartz whispered softly to Kain, "Why did she even agree to help? She looked as though she really enjoys this world."

"If we defeat Chaos, then there would be no more fighting. She can research everything in this world freely to her heart's content. Magic, manikins… That's the deal we struck with her." Kain replied back in a low voice, careful not to be overheard by Shantotto. But neither Kain nor Bartz needed to worry since Shantotto was too busy observing a lava fountain which had just erupted.

"One hell of a mad scientist," Cloud remarked from behind them.

…

"This is it." The Warrior of Light took a deep breath as he faced a series of floating islands leading to the Edge of Discord, the gateway which would lead them to Chaos.

"And so you think this is your route to victory." A snide growl interrupted them.

Garland, their final hurdle towards Chaos, stood menacingly before them as he materialized out of thin air. He was huge in size with his whole body and face covered in grey armor. He wore a purple cape and brandished a gigantic sword which could extend in battle.

"We'll take him out together and make a quick work out of him!" the Warrior of Light bellowed to his fellow warriors, "We attack in groups. Too many people on the battlefield would not work either." And with that, he gestured towards Firion, the Onion Knight and Cecil to fight with him in the first round.

Hissing angrily at the humiliation, Garland made the first move, creating a series of earthquakes which created a fissure between the warriors and the manikins. The Warrior of Light retaliated with a series of shining waves which was countered by bright red rays from Garland's sword. The two moves collided in the air to create an explosion which destroyed half a dozen manikins unfortunate enough to be standing close to the blast.

Garland proved to be a worthy adversary, befitting of his title as Chaos's highest rank warrior. Even with the four warriors fighting together, he could still put up a strong resistance. Furthermore, it seemed as though he never tires out, countering Onion Knight's relentless piercing, Firion's arrows and axes, Cecil's dark flames and the Warrior of Light's light rays. The other warriors watching the ferocious battle were all on the edge of their seats, itching to get into action.

But the most impatient of all might just be Garland himself. The fight was going nowhere and he was surrounded by the crowd of warriors. In his anger, he finally dodged the Warrior of Light's incoming charge and brandished his sword at Yuna and Tifa.

The unforeseen attack caught Yuna and Tifa by surprise as they gave a cry of astonishment as Garland charged towards them at high speed. With his sword aimed at the two female warriors, Garland was smirking inwardly to himself. This was to be their death…

Until his gigantic sword was countered by Lightning. She, however, was not using her usual gunblade but gigantic, ornately-decorated S-shaped swords which allowed her to match Garland's equally enormous blade. The two locked swords, staring at each other furiously. But without warning, Lightning had spun around Garland, taking him by surprise as the pressure he placed on his sword was lifted abruptly. In one swift, elegant move, Lightning had twirled her gigantic blades and struck Garland squarely on the neck…

The moment Odin's Blade struck Garland's neck Garland dissipated into wisps of black smoke which in turn dispersed in the air, growing thinner and thinner until it was no more.

Cheers erupted following a silence which accompanied Garland's dissipation. Their road was finally clear. Their final battle loomed before them, but their hearts were filled with hope. Hope that they can get their memories back. Hope that they can finally go home.

But how wrong were they…


	20. Chapter 20

Finale

As they passed through the gateway, the view of the Edge of Madness greeted them. It was an eerily majestic place on a platform high above a flight of stairs. Surrounding the platform were massive glowing structures in the shape of swords pierced into the ground. And even from below, they could make out Chaos's enormous throne adorned with carvings of skulls.

Chaos, the God of Discord, was seated on the throne, slumping lazily against one hand. He was gigantic in size with a pair of leathery wings, four arms, red horns the color of blood on his head and a powerful tail. His whole appearance was monstrous to the point of repulsive. He eyed the warriors closely as they reached the top of the platform and gave a mocking snort, "Hmph, impressive… You managed to come this far… by the help of a traitor I see…" He stared at Golbez, the expression on his hideous face imperceptible.

"It doesn't matter how we get here," the Warrior of Light asserted. "We've come to end this war, for good!"

Snarling at the Warrior of Light's retort, Chaos idly sat up as he placed all four of his hands on the armrests of his throne. "Before that," he said, grinning maliciously, "Tell me. What do you fight for? To return to your homelands?" His smile seemed to widen with every syllable he said. "Do you really think you have one?" Savoring every look of confusion and shock which scattered amongst the Warriors of Cosmos, he continued nonchalantly, "You're all nothing but imitations, clones of 'real' people in the homelands you so wish to return to. Why do you think you have no memories? You are nothing but a perfect manikin. Pawns for our war. Or has your goddess told you otherwise?"

"Wha-What!?" The Warrior of Light stammered. "Cosmos will never do that!" Gasps of shock and denial can be heard amongst his fellow warriors. Even Gabranth, Shantotto and Gilgamesh looked visibly shocked. Can the God of Discord really be trusted?

Chaos chucked at their reaction. "I may be God of Discord, your enemy. But I do not lie. If you do not believe me, you can call forth your beloved goddess here and make things clear."

_Cosmos! Please come and tell us that it's not true._ The Warrior of Light screamed inwardly_. Tell us that all we do have homes. That we'll get our memories back if we end this war._ As he tried to recall all that Cosmos have told them, he felt a sharp pang of pain in his heart. Cosmos have never said anything about ending the war; about going home; about getting their memories back…

It has always been about continuing this fruitless cycle. The war was the only time when Harmony and Discord can be balanced, for one cannot exist without the other, the yin and yang of this world.

"So what?" Lightning's voice rang out in the despairing silence, "Don't make me laugh! What you just said doesn't make a goddamn difference! If we have no homelands, then we'll just have to make one for ourselves, _right here_! And we'll do that by getting rid of _you_!

Every warrior was staring at her in awe as she brandishes Odin's gigantic S-shaped blade in one hand, ready to challenge the God of Discord.

"I never thought I'll see the day when Lightning's more positive than I am!" Laguna cheerily said as he aimed his machine gun at Chaos, apparently recovering from his depression, "But she's totally right! We may be imitations or clones, but that doesn't make us defective. We already _have_ friends. All we gotta do is to create the memories!"

"Tha-that's right!" Terra piped in as she stepped forward to join Lightning and Laguna, "It's not the net worth of one's life that's important. It is the day to day concerns, the personal victories, and the celebration of life… and love!"

One by one, the warriors stepped forward as they found back their lost hope. It was a different future altogether, but one that shone brighter than ever. The thought of continuing a new life with people around them, people they can see and remember clearly, in contrast to blurry visions of a life they once had strengthened their resolve.

"This is _our_ story. It'll go the way _we_ want it to be!" Tidus exclaimed, grinning widely as he twirled his bubbling blue sword in his hand.

Beside him Yuna smiled determinedly as she said, "We'll end this endless cycle of destruction… without false hope!"

Zidane placed one hand on his hip and shook his head, saying, "I can't sit around knowing a girl's in trouble. Goes against my nature."

Gabranth swung his dual-bladed sword as he stepped forward, growling, "Even a stray has pride!"

Even Gilgamesh was pumped up by his companions' soaring morale. "Ha! That's the way it should be! It will never do to have low fighting spirits! For Gilgamesh… IT'S MORPHING TIME!" And in a flash of light, he had morphed into an eight-armed figure which each of the six extra hands carrying a different weapon.

Chaos looked visibly infuriated at this turn of events, his horrendous face contorted into one of pure bestiality and evil. "You shall pay for this… I'll bring you 'true' death!"

He began the battle by sending four glowing meteor balls at the group. They dispersed to avoid the attack but soon followed up with retaliation. It was like none of the battles they ever had before. Every member was driven by a common dream, creating combination attacks they have never endeavored before.

Furious that his first attack had missed, Chaos leapt from his throne and dived through the air and created a glowing fissure as he landed. He was lightning-fast in his movements that it was near difficult to distinguish his figure if he was slashing through the air. Unfortunately for him, his landing was foreseen by Gabranth and before he could catch sight of the Gabranth, Chaos was staggering back by the impact of a powerful swipe of Gabranth sword. This was immediately followed by Terra's Flood magic, creating a forceful burst of water from the ground which tossed him into the air.

Kain followed up next, jumping high into the air and hurling his lance square on Chaos's chest which threw him back. But before he landed, Lightning had kept him launched with a series of slashes by Odin's Blade and in a flurry of red rose petals; Chaos had found himself struggling to escape the seemingly endless series of attacks.

He spun in the air, unleashing a horizontal disc of energy which extended throughout the platform, successfully injuring Firion, Tifa, Vaan and Prishe. They staggered as they picked themselves from the ground but declared firmly, "we can still fight!"

Chaos smirked at his success and swung his claws at Cecil, who barely avoided them, leaving blazing red trails in its wake. Shantotto took the chance as Chaos was focusing on Cecil to launch a series of magical spells on him; fire, earth, thunder, air, water and ice. Firion connected it with his firing of every weapon he has in his arsenal, charged, hurling him straight into Vaan's whirlwind. Caught in the vortex, Chaos was struggling to escape when Jecht sent an enormous meteor crushing down on him.

He fell from the sky but before the he touches the ground, Prishe had greeted him with a wide grin and a glowing fist. This time, the impact on Prishe's punches sent him sliding across the ground, leaving a trail of destroyed rocks. He staggered to get up, shaking furiously in anger. But a combination of Golbez's lasers and Yuna's Bahamut's black energy balls combined rained relentlessly on him, some even created holes on his wings.

He tried to block out the attack, creating a pillar of red flames around him. Reappearing on the top of the pillar, he went berserk as he slashed around the area frenziedly with his claws and tails. His attacks made its mark on the Onion Knight, Laguna and Squall. Badly injured they may be, but they still stood back up to fight this battle until the end.

Squall released a series of thunder magic on him. While the shock did little to damage him, it did break his concentration on his attacks, allowing Cloud to close in. Cloud's swords disintegrated into at least five different types of swords, glowing blue as it floated around Chaos, trapping him. In the speed of light, Cloud had slashed Chaos repeatedly, changing his sword at every turn he made. With a final blow and an explosive bullet from Laguna's gun, an explosion occurred in mid air.

Chaos was severely worn out from the unyielding attacks. He was panting heavily and with his torn wings and bleeding scars, very little remained of the proud God of Discord who swore to finish them earlier.

"You… No…" He growled, his voice shaking in anger, "You are not leaving this world! You shall pay for what you've done and dig your own graves… right here in this dead world!" A bright pillar of fire erupted around him and in one blinding instant, Chaos had transformed into, if it was even possible, a more bestial form.

He crawled on his four arms and two legs and his torn wings and wounds glowed red and yellow. He gave out a loud and ferocious roar before charging forward at the warriors once more.

And everyone soon realized that Feral Chaos, unlike Chaos, was one moved by sheer insanity. It was as though he was in a constant berserk state, attacking in random, hoping that it would find its mark on someone.

No longer able to foresee his attacks, a number of the warriors were caught in his frenzied attacks. The Warrior of Light cursed inwardly as his arm was badly lashed by a swipe of those burning claws. The _God of Discord has lost his mind,_ he thought. _We have to bring him down! But… how? His movements are erratic. What could be his weakness?_ Racking his brains for answers, the Warrior of Light continued sending rays of light at the feral god.

One by one, every warrior was injured in one way or another. _So this is the strength of pure lunacy…_ Golbez thought. _When you can't think, and unleash all the powers contained within you… This is what you get? _

"I refuse to believe we'll end by the hands of this monster!" Zidane declared, wiping blood off his mouth with the back of his hand. "There's got to be a way!"

"Can't we combine all our powers?" Gilgamesh asked, shrugging his shoulders, "like… SUPER DUPER MORPHING TIME or something?"

"Combine our powers…!?" the Onion Knight said excitedly, "That's it!"

"SUPER DUPER MORPHING TIME?" Gilgamesh asked almost innocently.

"No," the Onion Knight replied as he leapt from the ground, avoiding a lash of Feral Chaos's powerful tail. "Maybe… we can combine our magic powers. I mean we can't just pierce our swords together at the same time at him, can't we? So… If we channel every last ounce of magic power we have… maybe we stand a chance!"

"Worth a try," Lightning said as she swung her blades to counter Feral Chaos's claws.

"We'll channel them all to Shantotto! She has the strongest magic here." Terra agreed.

"Ohohoho." Shantotto said, "Jolly good idea. Now stand guard around me as I focus, and send me your magic powers, hocus pocus." With that she closed her eyes and concentrated her powers.

One by one, all the warriors sent every ounce of their magic to her. In Shantotto's hands, the energy ball was now filled with sparks of electricity, fiery serpents, ice crystals among others, each signifying the magic which each warrior was best at.

As Tifa sent her last magic in the form of ice crystals to Shantotto, the queer mixture in her hands began to radiate a golden light. Enveloping all the different elements to form a huge golden energy ball, the combined magic powers of every warrior shot straight out of Shantotto's hands, knocking even its caster back, and headed straight for Feral Chaos.

A blinding gold light forced everyone to shield their eyes. And when they reopened them, the environment had seemingly transformed. It was the same place based on the structure of the platform, but all around, it was dark save from a mysterious golden light high up above them.

The light grew larger and larger as it got nearer and nearer. Soon, the golden light in the shape of a majestic dragon flew around the platform, lighting up the area enough for them to see Feral Chaos's corpse, no longer glowing and lifeless, sprawled across the throne.

A gentle golden light engulfed them as the golden dragon circled the platform, and one by one, they were teleported out of that place…

…

It was nothing but a blank space, pure white, where the warriors were floating. They looked around nervously, wondering if this was what death looked like.

"My warriors…" Cosmos's voice rang out, echoing throughout the whole place.

"Cosmos!" The Warrior of Light cried out.

"You have fought bravely. Will it console you to know that you have ended the war for good? Shinryu have left the world for good… There will be no more resurrections, no more cycles, no more Gods…"

"What about you?!" Cecil cried out.

"Harmony cannot exist without Discord. I have decided to leave this world too. The last of these powers that I have as a Goddess… I'll use it for your sake… You deserve it."

And soon after, they could see one another no more…


	21. Chapter 21

Epilogue – Terra's POV

Time sure flies… It's been three years since the war ended. Three years since we woke up in this strange place… Why strange you might ask? Well, you see, this world is exactly the same as the world we fought the war in… except it was peaceful. There are flowers blooming, waters flowing, animals prancing about the forests, towns with people in it… Of course there are a couple of bad things like the monster infestation, but those aren't big deals. Point is we've been given another chance at life in this world. I think this is Cosmos's parting gift to us…

We now live in this kingdom called Cornelia. It's a really lovely town and the people are really nice. There's even a castle here! Everyone loves it here. We all found suitable livelihoods for ourselves, one way or another.

Tifa runs a café/bar in town. It's a café by day and a bar by night. I work part time there, mostly during the day. At night and on weekends, I'll be at the orphanage. Those children… I can't believe how adorable they are! I want to have at least a dozen of my own someday!

Tifa loves the children too. On her days off, she will go to the orphanage, bringing loads and loads of food which she cooks herself. The children adore her. Maybe one day she'll have as many children as I do.

Squall is a frequent visitor at the Tifa's bar. Most of the time, he'll be sitting by himself at one corner, literally growling at every middle-aged man who tries to flirt with Tifa. But I believe that he's changed for the better outside the bar. I mean, he's much friendlier now that he's around Tifa a lot, and he smiles more often too. He's director of a military school, by the way and I heard he's really strict…

Oh, and Cloud will always drop by whenever his deliveries prompted him to take a route near the café during my work hours. He runs a delivery service, see? But there are times when I don't see him for days whenever he has to deliver parcels out of town. I really think he should just employ more people. After all, his business is booming. He's even gotten himself half a dozen chocobos for delivery purposes; he might as well open a ranch soon.

As for Firion, he opened a flower shop opposite the bar. He really loves them. Moreover, it seems he does have the talents for it. Everyone who looks at his flowers would remark that they're the most beautiful they've ever seen. He's even gotten himself a pretty part-time assistant. She's really lovely and charming. Tifa swore that she looks familiar though… Firion's really into her according to Cecil, but… I really can't bear to tell him that I saw that girl with her boyfriend before…

Anyways, down the street is Gabranth's Ivalice Armory and Weapons Specialist Store. He's a huge hit among army officials and recently, the King himself has ordered three hundred sets of armor and swords from him for his army.

Prishe runs a fast food store in the next block. Her menu includes burgers, fries and taco among other things. She even has a happy meal set for kids. The kids in the orphanage love it when I bring them some.

By the way, have I mentioned that Blitzball's the new fad around here? Jecht and Tidus just can't stand the idea of not playing it anymore and thus introduced it in Cornelia. Well, the people here loved it and soon the word spread and everyone in this world knew about Blitzball. The duo became international star athletes, playing for the team 'Zanarkand Abes' around the world in the first ever International Blitzball Championship. Their finals are coming up and it's held here in Cornelia. I promised them that I'd watch along with the other guys.

Yuna works as the team manager. Not that she had a choice… If she's not around, Jecht and Tidus will just quarrel, or worse, fight. But once the Championship is over, she might just get an extra full-time job. Tidus have hinted that he bought a ring from Lufenia...

And I just remembered! About the big guy, Gilgamesh? He's finally gotten his long-awaited duel with Bartz though it probably didn't go exactly the way he wanted it to. He's disappeared since then, but he vowed to get stronger and come back to defeat Bartz.

Speaking of Bartz, he's gone travelling as a mimic artist. He's joined Zidane and Kuja's acting troupe but has his own act. Oh, and it turns out that Kuja was given a chance too by Cosmos! She probably heard Zidane's wish. Word is, he's the star for the act LOVELESS. I wish I get the chance to see it one day. Since they travel around the world, maybe I'll catch it the next time they come back to Cornelia.

Laguna's off journeying on his own too, as a journalist. His articles are being published everywhere and they're really interesting to read. All those places I've yet to go were recounted vividly in his accounts. Maybe we'll go on a vacation to one of those places someday. Tifa's already talking about closing the bar for about a week so that we can go together.

And Vaan… that boy's really serious when he said he wanted to be a sky pirate. He's now doing odd jobs everywhere in order to save up for his very own airship. That included helping Cloud with deliveries, helping as a waiter in either Tifa's Bar or Prishe's fast food store and most often he'd be at Gabranth's as an assistant blacksmith. Maybe he will be able to afford it soon…

And I haven't told you about the castle! A lot of the former warriors are working in the castle. Cecil and Kain have both taken command of an airship armada, _each_. They're really talented captains. Well since it's a time of peace, most of their work involves training new soldiers and overseeing the development of new airships.

As for Lightning, she has her own elite squad specializing in handling those monsters around town. Most of them aren't too dangerous, probably a couple of Coeurls. But word is, she received quite a fortune from the King for slaying two Behemoths which ran rampant around town a few weeks ago. Cecil told us that she's often seen with Kain, but no matter what, neither of them will ever admit there's something going on between them. There's one time when Lightning dropped by the bar for a drink, Tifa tried interrogating her about it. Pity she's such a good drinker. But she muttered something about 'can't be bothered with formalities'… Coming from her, that's a 'yes'.

Golbez is the military tactician of Cornelia now. He's earned a lot of the King's trust and has come to have a say in many important decisions of the country, not just regarding the military.

Speaking of the King's trust, of course there's always the Warrior of Light. Quoting Laguna's recent article, "This mysterious gallant knight had appeared in Cornelia as a blessing to the King. His undying loyalty and bravery have won the King's trust as well as the Princess' heart. Rumors have it that he is going to be betrothed to our lovely Princess Sarah…" I don't know where Laguna heard about that betrothal, but I always thought the Warrior had a thing for Prishe…

Then there's also that child prodigy, the Onion Knight. He entered the army as the youngest knight ever and now he's the captain of a squad. Not as big as Cecil or Kain's, but for a kid that young, it's quite an achievement.

Then there's Shantotto… She's off in some mountains doing her personal research. According to Laguna, her latest research included the taming of a Malboro. Even without a pet plant with hideous breath, I honestly doubt any of the others are keen to pay her a visit. But word is, she's gotten herself a cult worshipping her discoveries.

Sometimes I wonder, if I had returned to the homeland which frequented my dreams, would I be this happy? There's just so much to look forward to. I guess that's because I'm not alone here. If you can give yourself a chance to be happy, won't you join us here, Cid?


End file.
